New Industry Products

Intelligent GaN Power Solutions for Consumer, Industrial and Automotive Applications

June 06, 2018 by Paul Shepard

Exagan, an innovator of GaN semiconductor technology enabling smaller and more efficient electrical converters, is accelerating the transition to greater power efficiency by launching its safe, powerful G-FET™ power transistors and G-DRIVE™ intelligent fast-switching solution, featuring an integrated driver and transistor in a single package.

These GaN-based devices are easy to design into electronic products, paving the way for fast chargers that comply with the USB power delivery (PD) 3.0 type C standard while providing exceptional power performance and integration.

At this week's PCIM Europe conference in Nuremberg, Exagan is showcasing the use of its high-power-density GaN-on-silicon semiconductors to create ultra-fast, efficient and smaller 45- to 65-Watt chargers. The company's exhibit demonstrates its electrical-converter expertise and how both G-FET and G-DRIVE can benefit new converter product designs and their applications.

"The market potential for our products is enormous including all portable electronic devices as well as homes, restaurants, hotels, airports, automobiles and more," said Frédéric Dupont, president and CEO of Exagan. "In the near future, users will be able to quickly charge their smart phones, tablets, laptops and other devices simply by plugging a standard USB cable into a small, generic mobile charger."

Exagan is showing how GaN technology can enable new integrated design for 65 Watts USB PD adaptors, for better user experience and convenience

Exagan is working to accelerate the adoption of cost-effective GaN-based solutions for the charger market. The company uses 200-mm GaN-on-silicon wafers in its fabrication process, achieving highly cost efficient high-volume manufacturing. Exagan is now sampling its fast, energy-efficient devices to key customers while ramping up production to begin volume shipments of G-FET and G-DRIVE products.

The G-FET (650V), Exagan's first-generation product, will fit most customers' requirements in IT electronics, automotive and solar applications. Designed in normally-on and normally-off structures, this product ranges from a few amperes to several tens of amperes. It is offered as simple die or packaged devices with a novel known-good-die (KGD) capability that greatly reduces the integration risk in power modules.

The G-FET (650V)'s unique specifications (breakdown, leakage and low current collapse) are tested on a proprietary hardware and software platform that allows full functional testing under the conditions of actual applications.

Exagan's G-FET (1,200V) will be the company's second-generation product, enabling new and more efficient inverter and converter architectures while driving higher switching power at a reduced cost. High-power industrial and automotive inverters will benefit from this product's extreme switching capabilities and low resistance. With its very competitive cost, the G-FET (1,200V) offers a price-performance point that any other technology will find difficult to match.