900V GaN FETs Support 8kW in Typical Half-Bridge Configuration
Transphorm Inc. introduced its second 900V FET, the Gen III TP90H050WS, enhancing the industry's only 900V GaN product line. These devices now enable higher voltage automotive electronics and three-phase industrial systems to leverage GaN's power density, efficiency and speed.
Further, the new FET's platform is based on the company's 650V predecessor, which the company claims to be the only JEDEC- and AEC-Q101-qualified HV GaN technology. These qualifications ensure the quality and reliability of the components.
Typical applications for the GaN FET include datacom, broad industrial, pv inverters, and servo motors.
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The TP90H050WS has a typical on-resistance of 50mΩ with a 1000V transient rating, offered in a standard TO-247 package. The TP90H050WS can reach power levels of 8kW in a typical half-bridge while maintaining greater than 99% efficiencies. Its figures of merit for Ron*Qrr (hard switching bridge topologies), and Ron*Qoss (resonant switching topologies) are two to five times less than those of common super-junction technologies in production. These drastically reduced figures of merit indicating highly reduced switching losses.
While the company plans to release a JEDEC-qualified version in Q1 2020, Transphorm says that customers can design 900V GaN power systems today.
The TP90H180PS, the company's first 900V device features a typical on-resistance of 170mΩ in a TO-220 package, is JEDEC qualified, and has been available through Digi-Key since 2017. It can achieve a peak efficiency of 99%, thereby demonstrating its suitability for 3.5kW single-phase inverters.
Establishing GaN Viability for High Voltages
"Transphorm's latest 900V GaN product represents a major milestone for commercial GaN power transistors as it reaches the 1 kilovolt mark, an industry first. This paves the way for GaN to be a viable choice at these higher voltage nodes," said Primit Parikh, Co-founder and COO, Transphorm. "With partial funding from ARPA-E for early risk reduction and Power America for initial product qualification, this effort represents successful public-private partnership that accelerates GaN's market adoption."
Transphorm's 900V platform offers higher breakdown levels for systems that the company's 650V FETs already target including automotive, renewables, and various broad industrial applications. It is designed for use with bridgeless totem-pole power factor correction (PFC), and the half-bridge configurations in dc to dc converters and inverters. The ability to support these topologies at a higher voltage expands the company's target applications to include a broad range of three-phase industrial applications, such as automotive chargers/converters at higher battery voltage nodes and uninterruptible power supplies.
"900V GaN power devices eliminate barriers to access applications not presently supported with GaN semiconductors. With innovations like this 900V platform, Transphorm is advancing the industry, creating new customer opportunities," said Victor Veliadis, Deputy Executive Director and CTO of PowerAmerica, which partially funded the project.
Like all Transphorm qualified GaN FETs, the TP90H050WS offers the following advantages along with the differentiating features mentioned earlier:
Features
- JEDEC qualified GaN technology
- Dynamic RDS(on)eff production tested
- Robust design, defined by
- Intrinsic lifetime tests
- Wide gate safety margin
- Transient over-voltage capability
- Very low QRR
- Reduced crossover loss
- RoHS compliant and Halogen-free packaging
Benefits
- Enables ac-dc bridgeless totem-pole PFC designs
- Increased power density
- Reduced system size and weight
- Overall lower system cost
- Achieves increased efficiency in both hard- and soft-switched circuits
- Easy to drive with commonly-used gate drivers
- GSD pin layout improves high-speed design
Availability
Samples are now available. The component can be ordered from Transphorm's TP90H050WS product page.
