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Transphorm delivers 600 V GaN-on-silicon products
CALIFORNIAN start-up Transphorm has revealed its latest breakthrough in which reduce the large and growing problem of electrical energy waste in power conversion. The company says it is the first company to provide a qualified 600V GaN solution to inefficient power conversion. In 2011, the company announced its first GaN-on-silicon products: power transistors, diodes and modules, based on its patented, high- performance EZ GaN technology.
“The opportunity for widespread energy efficiency gains is staggering and our GaN solutions offer unprecedented energy gains,” says Umesh Mishra, CEO of Transphorm. “In the motor segment alone, Transphorm’s innovations create the potential to save 2.5 percent of U.S. electricity generation through enhanced electro-mechanical efficiency of the full drive and motor system— equivalent to the energy saving potential of replacing incandescent lighting with white LEDs.” Transphorm’s efficient, compact, and easy-to-embed solutions cut energy waste by 50 percent today and simplify the design and manufacturing of a wide variety of electrical systems and devices, including motor drives, power supplies and inverters for solar panels and electric vehicles. To demonstrate the performance
advantage of its patented GaN based technology, Transphorm will showcase at the PCIM exhibition its EZ GaN based, DC- to-DC Boost Converter running at more than 99 percent efficiency and our Tru-Sine motor drive delivering 2-8 percent higher efficiency at 100 KHz vs. state of the art IGBT based motor drives at 15KHz.
“Our team continues to expand its lead in high voltage GaN, with a broad portfolio of transistors, diodes and modules- now possible on low cost silicon substrate platform,” says Primit Parikh, President of Transphorm. “For customers looking for a low-risk roadmap to the next generation of power conversion technology,
Transphorm’s EZ-GaN Application Boards provide for a simpler design-in and faster time to market.”
Electric power waste that occurs during power conversion is equivalent to the daily output of 318 coal plants, and it costs the U.S. economy $40 billion per year. Transphorm’s GaN products come in industry-standard packages and are designed for optimum high-frequency switching. The company’s proprietary EZ GaN platform can reduce power system size, increase energy density and deliver high efficiencies across the grid, from HVACs to hybrids, and from servers to solar panels.
Emcore to provide III-V solar panels to NASA
EMCORE has won a solar panel manufacturing contract by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for its Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission targeted for launch in late 2014.
Solar panels populated with Emcore’s most advanced ZTJ triple-junction solar cells will power the SMAP spacecraft and instrument suite in near-polar, sun- synchronous orbit for the duration of mission.
Emcore’s 3rd generation triple-junction (ZTJ) solar cells with n-on-p polarity are built on a 140-µm uniform thickness germanium substrate. They have a low solar cell mass of 84 mg/cm2
and a
minimum average efficiency of 29.5%. The SMAP mission will provide global
measurements of soil moisture and its freeze/thaw state. These measurements will be used to enhance understanding of processes that link the planet’s water, energy and carbon cycles, and to extend the capabilities of weather and climate prediction models. SMAP data will also be
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www.compoundsemiconductor.net June 2012
used to quantify net carbon flux in boreal landscapes and to develop improved flood prediction and drought monitoring capabilities.
“We are honoured to continue supporting these critical missions for NASA,” says Christopher Larocca, Chief Operating Officer for Emcore. “Emcore successfully delivered solar panels to JPL last year for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission and have delivered, or are in the process of delivering, solar panels for several other NASA missions including the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE), Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), and the Magnetospheric Multi-Scale (MMS) missions. We look forward to working with NASA and JPL once again on this program.”
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