IEEE Power Electronics Magazine - June 2022 - 71

Similarly, GaN Systems displayed several GaN based
chargers from leading and innovative brands such as Samsung,
Philips, Harman, and Greenworks. Additionally, in
collaboration with Rompower, the company demonstrated
compact 65 W and 100 W GaN chargers, which the company
claimed to be the world's smallest GaN chargers for smartphones,
laptops and other consumer devices. " Supporting
Rompower's achievements in size and performance is GaN
technology, which is quickly replacing traditional silicon
transistors used in legacy chargers and adapters, " stated Jim
Witham, GaN Systems CEO.
Silanna Semiconductor and Smarter Living collaborated to
display world's smallest in-wall 65 W GaN charger. Measuring
just 42- # 42- # 30-mm, the new 3510PDFE charger is built
around Silanna's SZ1131 ACF controller and is the first in a
series of small form factor wall sockets that Smarter Living
will be providing for global markets.
Ultrafast charging is also the forte at Efficient Power Conversion
Corp. (EPC), who announced the availability of the
EPC9171, a 90 - 265 V universal ac input to 15-48 V dc output
power supply. Designed for USB-PD3.1 ultra-fast chargers, this
reference design can deliver 240 W maximum output power
at 48 V output voltage and 5 A load current. A power density
of about 1.1 W/cm3 is achieved by employing GaN power
switches operating at high switching frequencies in both the
primary and secondary circuits, said EPC. According to EPC,
the 240 W reference design measures 83.7-mm # 83.7-mm #
26-mm and achieves 79% higher power density than recently
released 140 W USB PD3.1 slim charger (Figure 4).
The EPC9171 is an " all-GaN " solution using GaN devices
for PFC, LCC and secondary synchronous rectification. The
GaN solution switches at two to three times the frequency
of standard silicon MOSFET solutions, which enables the
very high-power density, noted EPC's CEO Alex Lidow. With
240 W power, this solution can be adopted not only for ultrafast
USB charging for laptops, notebooks, and smartphones,
but can extend USB charging to other applications requiring
240 W, such as gaming PCs, eBikes, and eScooters, added
Lidow. As the cost for 48 V batteries continues to decline,
additional applications for ac/dc/SMPS charger
applications are emerging.
Meanwhile, Innoscience Technology
unveiled a new ultra-high-density 140 W
power supply demo that utilized the company's
high- and low-voltage GaN HEMT
devices to achieve efficiency of over 95%
(230 Vac; 5V/28A). Measuring just 60 # 60 #
22 mm (2.4 # 2.4 # 0.9 inches) the PSU has
a class-leading power density of 1.76 W/cm3
(29 W/in3). Dr. Denis Marcon, general manager
of Innoscience Europe and marketing
manager for the USA and Europe, explained,
" By using GaN switches for both the high- and
low-voltage functions on this design, we are
maximizing efficiency rather than compromising
it with lossy silicon devices. " Thanks
to Innoscience's cost-effective and high-volume manufacturing
processes and capabilities. This is now possible,
added Marcon "
Yi Sun, general manager of Innoscience America and senior
vice president of product and engineering noted, " This design,
which targets USB PD3.1 notebooks and power tools, is a full
2% more efficient than silicon designs; this proves what can
be achieved if GaN FETs are used everywhere, even in a relatively
simple design. "
Entering the medium-voltage arena was ROHM Semiconductor.
ROHM has developed 150 V GaN devices with
rated 8 V gate voltage. As a result, according to ROHM,
degradation is prevented, even if overshoot voltages
exceeding 6 V occurs during switching-contributing to
improved design margin and higher reliability in power
supply circuits. The GNE10xxTB series is offered in a
highly versatile package featuring superior heat dissipation
and large current capability, facilitating handling during
the mounting process.
Employing its 650 V GaN HEMT, STMicroelectronics
introduced a high voltage converter, labeled VIPerGaN50.
Designed for medium power quasi-resonant ZVS flyback
converters, it is, capable of providing an output power of
up to 50 W in wide range. It integrates a complete set of
features that provide an extremely flexible and easy to use
chip and helps to design a highly efficient offline power supply.
VIPerGaN50 comes in a compact and low-cost 5-mm
# 6-mm package. The speed of the integrated GaN transistor
allows a high switching frequency with a small and
lightweight flyback transformer. Minimal additional external
components are needed to design an advanced, highefficiency
SMPS supply.
Speaking of fast and ultra-fast chargers, Navitas Semiconductor
continues to strengthen its hold on the mobile
phones and consumer markets. With more than 40 million
units shipped, 174 billion hours in the field and zero reported
GaN-related field failures, plus 5.8 billion equivalent device
hours testing, Navitas is now able to offer a 20-year warranty
for GaNFast power ICs. " As we describe in our sustainability
26 mm
83.7 mm
83.7 mm
FIG 4 Fully assembled demonstration board for EPC9171.
June 2022 z IEEE POWER ELECTRONICS MAGAZINE 71
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