OPPO and Xiaomi have ignited the GaN charger market

Last October, OPPO Reno Ace was officially released, with a standard 65W Super Flash GaN charger. It is reported that this is the first time that the third-generation semiconductor material – GaN (gallium nitride) has been used in a mobile phone’s original fast charging charger. OPPO is also the world’s first manufacturer to introduce gallium nitride technology in mobile phone chargers. It also announced that gallium nitride technology has officially entered the mobile phone original charger market.

According to online information: The reason why OPPO's 65W Super Flash Charge technology does not use traditional silicon power devices is that as the charging power increases, the volume will become larger, which will bring inconvenience to users' use and carrying. However, after using gallium nitride power devices, not only can the size of the transformer be reduced by increasing the switching frequency. Moreover, the heat sink can be reduced or omitted by relying on the high-efficiency characteristics of gallium nitride, thereby miniaturizing the size of high-power chargers.

On February 13, Xiaomi launched its star product, the 65W GaN charger, at its new product launch conference, which attracted the market's attention to GaN. According to Xiaomi, the Xiaomi GaN charger has a 65W power, but its volume is only half that of a traditional charger of the same power. It has the advantages of being small, efficient, and generating low heat. The "hero" that makes the Xiaomi charger have so many advantages is the gallium nitride material.

The word "GaN" has been repeatedly mentioned by mobile phone manufacturers, so what exactly is GaN? Here I will give you a brief introduction.

Gallium nitride is a typical representative of the third generation of semiconductor materials (i.e. compound semiconductors). Compared with the first generation of semiconductor materials such as silicon and germanium, and the second generation of semiconductor materials such as gallium arsenide and indium phosphide, the third generation of semiconductor materials (including gallium nitride, silicon carbide, zinc oxide, etc.) can withstand higher voltages, are suitable for higher frequencies, can achieve higher power densities, and have the characteristics of high temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, radiation resistance, and large bandgap width. They have broad application prospects in high frequency, high power power electronics, microwave radio frequency and other fields.

Gallium nitride technology has become mature and has been widely used in the field of USB PD fast charging. Gallium nitride technology allows the power of chargers to become larger and smaller, ensuring the portability of the product.

It is understood that at this year's CES2020, 30 manufacturers including Anker launched 66 GaN fast-charging products. It is worth noting that compared with previous years, the number of GaN fast-charging charger factories at this CES has increased significantly, which also reflects from the side that GaN fast-charging technology has matured and has been recognized by many manufacturers.

The industry is developing at a fast pace, and manufacturers who have taken the lead in deploying GaN fast charging products have gained market recognition and seized the opportunity. At the same time, with the iteration and innovation of technology, product costs have dropped significantly.

Conclusion:

Xiaomi's launch of a gallium nitride charger is expected to further stimulate market demand. If Apple also adopts this technology in the future, the penetration rate of gallium nitride chargers will accelerate. At present, the shipping price of gallium nitride fast charging products from many manufacturers has dropped to the level of traditional silicon power devices, which is very attractive to brand owners. I believe that in the future, gallium nitride will shine in the fast charging industry and eventually replace traditional silicon power devices.