WhatsApp:+852-69577225The industry's first 1700V gallium nitride switch IC is launched
11/12/2024 2:21:05 PM
In recent years, third-generation semiconductors represented by silicon carbide and gallium nitride have attracted much attention due to the rise of new energy vehicles, energy storage and other applications. In particular, silicon carbide has obvious advantages in key parameters such as bandgap width, breakdown voltage, thermal conductivity, and electron saturation rate, so it is favored in applications that require high voltage, high temperature resistance, high frequency and high power. Many semiconductor manufacturers are also actively deploying in the field of silicon carbide devices.
 (1).jpg)
 (1).jpg)
Although gallium nitride has similar advantages to silicon carbide, its development in recent years seems to be somewhat tepid compared to silicon carbide. In the high-voltage field, there are silicon carbide devices, and in the low-voltage field, there are silicon devices. The first 1700V gallium nitride switch IC recently launched by Power Integration (PI) broke this situation, allowing gallium nitride devices to compete head-on with silicon carbide devices.
According to Jason Yan, senior technical training manager of PI, the 1700V gallium nitride switch IC recently launched by PI is a new member of its InnoMux™-2 series of single-stage, independently adjusted multi-output offline power supply ICs. This GaN switch IC is manufactured using PI's proprietary PowiGaN™ technology and has extremely high multi-output efficiency. It can easily support a 1000VDC rated input voltage in a flyback design and achieve more than 90% efficiency in applications requiring one, two or three supply voltages. The adjustment accuracy of each output is controlled within 1%, and no post-regulator is required, which further improves the system efficiency by about 10%.
Compared with the 750V PowiGaN device, the newly released 1700V device also has the same efficiency. Compared with the existing high-voltage solution using StackFETTM (DER-859 sample), the efficiency of the 1700V InnoMux2-EP is greatly improved, the switching loss is extremely small, and the number of components required is greatly reduced.
So why can PI increase the withstand voltage of GaN to 1700V? This is related to the unique power switch structure adopted by PI. The epitaxial structure of GaN power devices can be divided into two types: D-mode (Depletion-mode) and E-mode (Enhance-mode). Among them, depletion-mode GaN is normally open, while enhancement-mode GaN is normally closed.
Most manufacturers on the market use an enhancement structure, while PI uses a depletion structure, and then adopts a cascaded "common source and common gate" architecture, with a small MOS tube connected in series under the normally open depletion-mode GaN device. MOSFET has existed for many years, and its driving technology and protection technology have been very perfect, so PI uses this existing technology to control depletion-mode GaN, which can achieve a very reliable and safe operation. At the same time, it is also easier to achieve higher voltages.
Doug Bailey, vice president of marketing at PI, previously stated at an industry conference that the 1700V GaN switch IC launched by PI is the industry's first GaN device exceeding 1250V. On the one hand, this device makes the power conversion switch options that PI can provide more and more abundant, covering the voltage range from 650V to 1700V, and devices of different materials from silicon, to gallium nitride, and then to silicon carbide. On the other hand, the release of this device also shows that gallium nitride technology is developing rapidly, gradually approaching or even surpassing the performance of silicon carbide. Doug Bailey also said, "Our goal is to replace silicon carbide, which is the mission of our company."
In fact, PI has already launched a 1700V silicon carbide device, so why launch a gallium nitride device with the same voltage value? Jason Yan said: "It is mainly due to cost considerations. As we all know, the manufacturing of silicon carbide devices is a high-energy and high-cost process, and it is necessary to build an independent production line; while gallium nitride devices can be manufactured based on existing silicon production lines, which can significantly save costs. We are committed to replacing traditional high-energy and expensive silicon carbide devices with gallium nitride switching devices."
He took the automotive market as an example. At present, many car users are facing cost pressures. They also want alternatives to silicon carbide, and PI's gallium nitride devices are a good choice.
As PI increases the rated withstand voltage of gallium nitride to 1700V, the application scope of gallium nitride devices will be further expanded. At present, gallium nitride devices are mainly used in fields with power levels of about 100W, and above 1KW, it is the advantageous application field of silicon carbide. But at present, gallium nitride is slowly eroding the application market of silicon carbide. Jason Yan believes that at the 1KW power level, GaN will defeat SiC and become the main power switch technology; at the 10KW power level, GaN has also been applied to new designs; at 100KW, GaN will also be applied soon. In the future, GaN switches will dominate between the 10W-1MW power level.
Jason Yan also said: "For GaN devices, 1700V is not the peak, and PI will definitely have higher voltage products in the future. In addition to the increase in voltage, we will also further expand the current capacity because we are optimistic about the development of GaN technology."
According to data from Yole Group, by the end of 2029, the market size of power GaN devices will reach US$2 billion and will expand to various application fields. Compared with SiC devices, its cost advantage is more attractive. Jason Yan also said: "Silicon carbide technology is already very mature, but its cost has not dropped, indicating that it has faced a bottleneck, while GaN technology is still an emerging technology. I believe that it will have a very broad application prospect in the future and become a mainstream power device material."
- payment
Online