ELECTRIC VEHICLES Transphorm's SuperGaN FET for electric vehicles

In early December, Transphorm announced the sampling of its first Gen V device under its proprietary SuperGaN brand, the TP65H015G5WS, which has been designed for electric vehicles and offers significantly lower power loss.

Related Vendors

Rogers Corporation

PCIM Europe

Schunk Sonosystems GmbH

Diotec Semiconductor AG

Würth Elektronik ICS GmbH & Co. KG

more less

ICT SUEDWERK GmbH

onsemi

Maschinenfabrik Reinhausen GmbH

less

Devices based on and Silicon Carbide (SiC) are defining the modern electronics industry, taking over from silicon in instances where it’s not able to perform, i.e., very high voltage and high-density applications. Since its introduction, manufacturers have been exploring and innovating with GaN technology to enhance the performance and design flexibility of various applications.

Now, Transphorm, the global leader in high reliability, high-performance GaN power conversion products, has announced that it is to begin sampling its very first Gen V device under its proprietary SuperGaNTM brand.

POWER INDUSTRY

GaN Systems' 2021 predictions for the power industry

The TP65H015G5WS Gen V GaN FET

Named ‘TP65H015G5WS’, the device targets the electric vehicle market and provides industry-leading performance enhancements, ease of designability, and an optimized cost structure, all of which the SuperGaNTM family of devices is known for.

According to Transphorm, the Gen V GaN FET offers the world’s lowest packaged on-resistance and reduces power loss over SiC by over 25 percent in a standard TO-247-3 package. This greatly strengthens the potential of GaN in the EV power conversion market.

The new GaN FET is the result of Transphorm’s strategic partnership with Marelli, an independent supplier with technology that supports 48 V to 800 V electric powertrain systems, announced back in March. The goal of this partnership is to realize the development of new GaN-based solutions for EVs, such as on-board charging, DC-DC converters, and powertrain inverters for power conversion.

Joachim Fetzer, CEO of Electric Powertrain Marelli, commented on how the new Gen V GaN FET is further validation of the exciting promise of GaN for EV converters and inverters. “As part of our previously announced partnership, we will continue to evaluate Transphorm’s industry-leading GaN devices and work together in support of a multi-year EV systems product roadmap,” he added.

Key Specifications

Transphorm’s SuperGaN family was born out of a desire to enhance reliability and efficiency throughout infrastructure, industrial, 5G, and automotive markets. Indeed, it’s automotive that will especially benefit from the implementation of GaN FETS, with Transphorm claiming that they’ll lead to longer drive sessions in EVs while simultaneously lowering system design costs.

According to Transphorm, the new Gen V GaN FET was able to improve on efficiency when compared to its predecessor, the Gen IV. The key difference, however, was the on-resistance RDS(on), which dropped by nearly 30 milliohms between Gen IV and V. This specification is what enables the new GaN FET to achieve low power loss at high voltages.

Research & Development

Is gallium nitride (GaN) the silicon of the future?

COO and co-founder of Transphorm, Primit Parikh, said: ““We continue to innovate Transphorm’s SuperGaN FET technology, now offering the world’s lowest on-resistance in a standard TO-247-3 package in the market, targeted for electric vehicles and other higher power conversion applications.” He added that this will allow customers to achieve double-digit kilowatts with a single device, demonstrating the promise of GaN to provide higher performance, lower system cost, and higher power density.

(ID:47070678)