GaN Systems has announced that its power transistors are employed in the latest generation of Renesas Electronics Corporation’s automotive 48V/12V Bidirectional DC/DC Converters, resulting in significant power density enhancements.
The new converter uses the GS61008P from GaN Systems, which makes the system 46% smaller.
This is a 100V enhancement mode GaN-on-silicon power transistor. The 48V mild hybrid vehicles and electric bikes that Renesas is targeting use high efficiency DC/DC converters in the 12V range.
GaN enables high switching frequency at high efficiency, which translates to reduced magnetics and a more compact design.
When compared to employing Si-MOSFETs, the GaN HEMTs used by GaN Systems allow for a 50% reduction in PCB space.
GaN Systems transistors reduce PCB size by 46%, enabling a high-efficiency power converter with a 500kHz switching frequency. This allows compact 1.3H inductors, reducing size and weight. Moreover, GaN and automated phase drop provide 94% power efficiency even at modest loads, 400W to 3kW.
The ISL78226 PWM controller eliminates the need for complicated DC/DC converter control software development and he half-bridge driver ISL78420/444 provides an easy and cost-effective method of driving GaN transistors.
While GaN has had tremendous success in markets such as consumer electronics, it is increasingly becoming the technology of choice for applications such as the conversion of power and the charging of batteries in hybrid and electric cars. Because GaN provides far higher performance than silicon and silicon carbide at a very low cost, it makes it possible to lower the weight and boost the efficiency of a wide range of electric cars in a manner that is both cost-effective and environmentally friendly.
