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Navitas integrates GaN half bridge in single package

Navitas integrates GaN half bridge in single package

Technology News |
By Nick Flaherty



Navitas Semiconductor has integrated a complete gallium nitride half bridge with drivers into a single package to simply the development of power supplies operating at high frequencies.

“It’s a very exciting time for Navitas and we differentiate with the integrated control and sensing,” said Llew Vaughan-Edmunds, senior director of marketing. “Now we are integrating a half bridge stage into a package.”

“The half bridge is a fundamental building block strategically,” he said. “This is the next step for applications such as fast chargers as well as active clamp flyback, totem pole and LL resonant which can all use the high switching performance at megahertz speeds.”

The GaNSense half-bridge power ICs integrate two GaN FETs with drive, control, sensing, autonomous protection, and level-shift isolation, to create a fundamental power-stage building block for power electronics.

The GaNSense technology enables unprecedented autonomous protection for increased reliability and robustness, combined with loss-less current sensing for higher levels of efficiency and energy savings. The high integration levels also eliminate circuit parasitics and delays, making MHz-frequency operation a reality for a broad range of AC-DC-power topologies including LLC resonant, asymmetric half-bridge (AHB), and active-clamp flyback (ACF). The GaNSense half-bridge ICs are also a perfect fit for totem-pole PFC, as well as motor-drive applications.

“GaNfast integates the driver and the regulation and GaNsense added sensing and automation for lossless sensing with autonomous short circuit protection. We have integrated tow of those into a same package with level shift logic and a high side low side half bridge. Now we can go to the highest level of integration.

“With the integration of the half bridge and the lossless current sensing you can increase the efficiency of designs,” he said.

The multi-chip package combines the power devices and drivers as well as the sensing and reduces the footprint by 64%. The higher efficiency eliminates the need for a heat sink and the higher frequency operation reduces the size of the magnetics, allowing the half bridge to be integrated into the motor drive chassis for applications such as air conditioning and refrigeration.

“We are in nine of the ten leading charger makers and it will be 10 by the end of the year and they work with us to ensure the most efficient solution., We have an autonomous low current standby mode when it shuts down which meets the OEM requirements.”

The GaN on silicon power HEMT transistors are produced at TSMC with a standard lead time of 16 weeks. “That’s significantly lower than silicon and we are seeing an increasing adoption as a result,” said Vaughan-Edmunds. “They have guaranteed us 3x the capacity and we are confident that we can support demand in the future. At PCIM we said we had sold 50m pieces and we are accelerating.”

“After bipolar transistors were replaced by silicon MOSFETs in the late 70s and early 80s, the introduction of Navitas GaN technology represents the second revolution in power, with a huge increase in switching frequency and efficiency, and major reductions in system size and cost,” said Gene Sheridan, CEO of Navitas. “Our initial GaNFast ICs enabled an increase from 50-60 kHz to 200-500 kHz, and now the GaNSense half-bridges elevate those benefits to the MHz range.”

The initial family of GaNSense Half-Bridge ICs includes the NV6247 which is rated at 650 V, 160 mOhms (dual), and the NV6245C, rated at 275 mOhms (dual), both in an industry-standard, low-profile, low-inductance, 6 x 8 mm PQFN package.

The NV6247 is immediately available in production with 16-week lead times, while the NV6245C is sampling to select customers and will be broadly available in production to all customers in Q4 2022. A wide range of package styles and power levels will become available in this GaNSense Half-Bridge IC family in the coming quarters.

More details can be found in the AN018 application note.

www.navitassemi.com

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