Renesas Electronics Corporation, a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, has expanded its GaN portfolio into low-voltage applications. The company launched its first family of 100V enhancement mode (E-mode) GaN-based discrete power transistors. The family includes the RTP100E005G1FL, RTP100E2P6G1FL, RTP100E1P8G1FL-DSC and RTP100E1P2G1FL-DSC low-voltage GaN FETs. These devices deliver ultra-fast switching speeds and enhanced thermal performance. They target efficiency-critical, high power density applications. These include AI data centers, humanoid robotics, factory automation, industrial motor drives, power tools and solar microinverters.
The new low-voltage GaN FETs achieve industry-leading hard- and soft-switching figure-of-merit (FOM) performance. Specifically, they deliver up to 35% lower hard-switching FOM and up to 63% lower soft-switching FOM than comparable GaN devices. Moreover, the devices keep a silicon-compatible footprint. This feature allows easy adoption into existing designs.
Power converters in today’s data centers generally operate at switching frequencies of a few hundred kilohertz. However, AI servers and industrial infrastructure are transitioning to 800 VDC power distribution and 48V bus architectures. As a result, many converter stages are moving toward megahertz-class switching. This shift shrinks magnetics, increases power density and improves overall efficiency.
Using low-voltage GaN in 800V high-voltage direct current (HVDC) power architectures simplifies power conversion design. It significantly reduces passive component size, switching losses and cooling requirements. At the system level, this translates to better efficiency and fewer thermal management requirements. Consequently, users also see lower energy and BOM costs.
Broad GaN Portfolio Yields Greater Efficiency, Power Density and Design Flexibility
Renesas built this low-voltage GaN FETs portfolio on its recently expanded low-voltage E-mode GaN technology platform. The portfolio features ultra-fast GaN switching with low total gate charge (Qg) and output charge (Qoss). This design minimizes the overlap between voltage and current. In turn, it reduces energy lost in each conversion cycle across AI power supply units, motor drives and DC-DC power stages. The devices also offer zero reverse recovery (Qrr = 0), which eliminates energy losses for immediate switching efficiency gains.
Fast switching increases power density and yields higher frequency operation. It shrinks the PCB footprint and reduces the size of magnetic and passive components. Meanwhile, low RDS(on) improves operating efficiency by curtailing conduction losses. Available bottom- and dual-side cooling configurations provide added heat dissipation and design flexibility. At the system level, the low-voltage GaN devices can achieve up to 40–70% lower switching losses. They can also reach up to twice the power density. These gains depend on application requirements and power-conversion architecture.
Renesas offers the new low-voltage GaN FETs transistors in multiple standard MOSFET-compatible packages. Therefore, customers can quickly migrate from silicon MOSFET layouts without significant PCB rework. This approach speeds up design implementation. In addition, the package options pair with a wide RDS(on) range (5 mΩ-1.2 mΩ). Designers can scale across power levels and applications, including synchronous rectification, multiphase buck conversion and motor drives.
“Customers adopting next-generation GaN technology for AI servers, robotics, industrial motor drives and renewable energy systems are looking for ways to deliver more efficient power conversion performance from increasingly compact systems,” said Akhil Nair, Senior Director, Low-Voltage GaN at Renesas. “Our low-voltage GaN family delivers the efficiency, switching performance and power density designers expect from GaN while making it significantly easier to transition from existing silicon MOSFET designs.”
High GaN Performance in Silicon-Compatible Footprints
The new GaN family uses E-mode (normally off) GaN technology. This approach offers the performance advantages of GaN in a convenient silicon-compatible footprint. As a result, designers capture the efficiency and power benefits of GaN. It also simplifies migration from existing silicon-based designs.
Key features of the new low-voltage GaN family:
- 1 to 3% higher efficiency over silicon-based designs, with Qrr loss eliminated
- Drastic 40 to 70% reduction in switching losses
- Doubled power density through lower switching energy per cycle and high-frequency operation
- Smaller system footprint, as higher switching frequency reduces magnetics size and lowers overall system losses
- Optimized thermal management that reduces fan and active cooling requirements, cutting system complexity and BOM cost
Additionally, the new GaN family consumes less total energy per power stage. This helps designers meet sustainability objectives. Smaller fans handle thermal and airflow management, and designers can use smaller magnetics. The overall PCB footprint also shrinks. Together, these gains contribute to AI data center and industrial energy efficiency targets.
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News Source: Businesswire.com
