PowiGaN makes consumer electronics small and powerful

Latest update time：2021-09-07 14:33

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As a semiconductor material, people began to pay attention to GaN (gallium nitride) from the application of LED lights in the 1990s. However, after we saw that GaN chargers achieved higher efficiency and better heat dissipation in a smaller volume, the explosion of GaN in the field of consumer electronics was unstoppable.

At the 11th Asian Power Technology Development Forum and the 21DIANYUAN Shenzhen High-Performance Power Technology Sharing and Practical Technology Seminar (hereinafter referred to as the Seminar), Guo Yonghui, Application Director of PI China, shared with everyone the "GaN Solutions for Consumer Electronics Applications" from PI.

[Picture shows Guo Yonghui, PI China Application Director, giving a speech]

After 10 years of hard work, 21Dianyuan has forged the Shenzhen "High-Performance Power Technology Sharing and Practical Technology Seminar" with thousands of people, which has an excellent reputation in the industry. In 2020, 21Dianyuan joined hands with senior experts at home and abroad and international famous companies to create the "Asian Power Technology Development Forum", providing domestic power engineers with a high-quality and efficient platform that integrates technology improvement, network expansion, business negotiation and industry empowerment.

Guo Yonghui said that GaN is driving the global power revolution and has shown great potential in the fields of fast chargers, the Internet of Things, smart homes, smart buildings (HBA), home appliances and industrial equipment. PI's PowiGaN can make power conversion smaller and can help achieve:

The flyback converter has an efficiency of up to 95%;
Smaller, lighter power supplies;
GaN switches that easily withstand worldwide input surges and voltage swells.

Integration is key to GaN commercialization

As the technology becomes more widely used, products using GaN technology will be significantly smaller in size and more efficient, which is the charm of GaN. Guo Yonghui believes that integration is the key to achieving this and commercializing GaN. At the seminar, he used InnoSwitch™3-Pro as an example to illustrate this.

InnoSwitch™ 3-Pro switcher ICs match PowiGaN with integrated digitally controlled power conversion to deliver consistent high efficiency at all loads, with efficiencies up to 94%.

【InnoSwitch™3-Pro Switching Power Supply IC】

InnoSwitch™3-Pro switcher ICs integrate drivers customized for specific PowiGaN devices to optimize switching speeds, thereby reducing EMI, improving efficiency and eliminating oscillations. In addition, InnoSwitch™3-Pro switcher ICs feature primary and secondary controllers + an I ² C interface that ensures safe isolation through FluxLink™ technology.

^{The I2C} interface on the InnoSwitch™3-Pro switching power supply IC is programmable and can adjust the output voltage and current, CV, CC, CP characteristics, and fault trigger points and responses. Therefore, the I2C ^interface on the InnoSwitch™3-Pro switching power supply IC can adjust the output to meet the load requirements and communicate with the load device via the USB line.

Guo Yonghui emphasized that the InnoSwitch™3-Pro switching power supply IC can achieve seamless expansion of Si and PowiGaN switches.

GaN takes performance beyond power switches

For charger and adapter applications, the switching frequency determines the size of the transformer, and the input voltage determines the size of the bulk capacitor.

In the process of reducing device size, high voltage bulk electrolytic capacitors have become a headache. In order to support high input voltages, capacitor manufacturers must significantly increase the size of bulk capacitors!

By using PI's PowiGaN technology, the MinE-CAP switch saves space without compromising output ripple, operating efficiency, or requiring transformer redesign. It can significantly reduce the number of high-voltage energy storage components and isolate low-voltage capacitors from severe grid voltage fluctuations, thereby providing enhanced ruggedness for regions with a wide input voltage range.

The MinE-CAP switch adds low-voltage capacitors when the input voltage is low, and removes the low-voltage capacitors when the input voltage increases, making it possible to use a 400V39μF capacitor at 220VAC input and automatically connect a 160V100μF capacitor in parallel at 110VAC input to meet output requirements.

【 MinE-CAP switch】

[Size: 13 x 25mm, about 1/3 of the volume of 400V]

An ideal match: InnoSwitch™3/Pro and MinE-CAP

At the seminar, Guo Yonghui demonstrated to everyone that InnoSwitch™3/Pro and MinE-CAP are an ideal pair through the USB PD 3.0 adapter reference design DER626. He defined it as using achievable technology to make the ultimate product.

Thanks to the high performance and high integration of InnoSwitch™ 3-Pro and MinE-CAP, DER626 can achieve a wide input range and 65W output in a size of 85 x 54 x 15mm.

【DER626】

Summarize

PI's PowiGaN can provide higher efficiency and help complete the design of small/light products. It has been applied in many fields, including industrial, consumer, lighting and commercial. Through IC products such as InnoSwitch™3-Pro and MinE-CAP, PI's PowiGaN will reshape offline power conversion.

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