Feature: Power
Figure 4: Experienced power designers have crossed the ‘camel-back’ technological chasm many times
intelligence (AI) software shortening the time needed to design and test new transformer types (e.g., Frenetic, Simba, etc.). At PRBX we are combining digital control, GaN and
multicore transformers (Figure 3) with advanced wiring and auto-tuned performance, to support extremely wide input voltage ranges and outputs subject to repetitive peak loads.
In WBG we trust! There is a similarity between the launch of WBG semiconductors and that of power MOSFETs. Despite early WBG products not being very user-friendly (due their depletion mode requiring very specific drivers), it didn’t take long for power semiconductor manufacturers to
develop suitable solutions. Still, it is now over five years since manufacturers first discussed this technology’s benefits, but we have yet to see its wide adoption. A characteristic of any new technology, the familiar ‘camel-
back’ curve is well known to experienced power designers (the latest one being the migration from analogue to digital control), with its typical ten-years-plus timescale to gain significant market traction; see Figure 4. In the case of WBG – and especially GaN, with its
characteristic very-low internal resistance and very-fast switching – early adopters entered the fray much quicker than first expected, among them the PC and mobile/nomad industries. Many USB-C chargers using GaN semiconductors were announced in 2020-2021, and particularly worthy of mention is the GaNFast power IC from Navitas, which will drive the 120W ultra-fast charger supplied with Vivo’s iQOO 9 Pro mobile phone. Not only does GaN offer superb electrical performance, it also reduces the physical size of a device by 26%, reaching a power density of 1.3W/cc. Packaging is also important, and we see many manufacturers
offering small and optimised solutions, such as Efficient Power Conversion’s approach (Figure 5), which minimises interconnection losses and helps reduce a power converter to a very small size. In essence, we can split the market into two segments: high
voltage (using SiC) and low voltage (using GaN). High-voltage applications such as electric vehicles and solar power already use SiC transistors, so power engineers will be able to quickly switch to the new low-voltage technology. Considering all these parameters, 2022 will be a very
Figure 5: Efficient Power Conversion’s approach is one way of developing power supplies
important year for WBG materials and their use in many new power supplies – AC/DC and DC/DC. 2022 will be a very exciting year for all those designing power solutions.
24 July/August 2022
www.electronicsworld.co.uk
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