The wide bandgap power GaN technology is optimised for high power applications in data centres, solar / energy storage and EV markets where efficiency, power density, robustness and reliability are critical.

Manufactured by TSMC, the GaNFast power ICs integrate GaN power and drive, with control, sensing, and protection to enable faster charging, higher power density, and greater energy savings, says the company. It is believed to be the first in the industry to carry a 20-year warranty. It has been engineered with additional, application-specific protection features, and a high power packaging for operation in demanding, high temperature, long duration conditions.

The initial GaNSafe portfolio covers a range of RDS(on) from 35 to 98mΩ in surface mount TOLL package, to address applications from 1,000 to 22,000W.

The power ICs feature an integrated gate drive control, with zero gate source loop inductance for 2MHz switching capability to maximise power density, says Navitas. There is also high speed, short circuit protection, with autonomous ‘detect and protect’ within 50ns, which is four times faster than competing discrete solutions, reports the company.

There is also electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection of 2kV, compared to 0kV for discrete GaN transistors. It also has programmable turn on and turn off speeds (dV/dt) to simplify EMI regulatory requirements.

The initial power ICs have 650V continuous and raised 800V transient voltage capability for operation during the most demanding conditions.

According to Navitas, the TOLL package is easy to use with just four pins, to accelerate customer designs. The package has achieved IPC-9701 mechanical reliability standard.  

Navitas’ market-specific system design centres offer platform designs with benchmark efficiency, density and system cost using GaNSafe products to accelerate time-to-revenue and maximise the chance of first-time-right designs. The offering includes  complete design collateral with fully-tested hardware, embedded software, schematics, bill of materials, layout, simulation and hardware test results.  Examples of system platforms enabled by GaNSafe technology include Navitas’ CRPS185 data centre power platform, that delivers a full 3,200W of power in only 1U (40mm) x 73.5mm x 185 mm (544 cc), achieving 5.9W/cc, or almost 100W/in³ power density. This is a 40% size reduction compared with the equivalent legacy silicon approach, says the company. It reaches over 96.5% efficiency at 30% load, and over 96% stretching from 20% to 60% load, creating a ‘Titanium Plus’ benchmark.

Another example is Navitas’ 6.6kW three-in-one bi-directional EV on-board charger (OBC) with 3kW DC/DC. This 96% efficient unit has over 50% higher power density, and with efficiency over 95%, delivers up to 16% energy savings as compared to competing solutions.

The GaNSafe portfolio is available immediately to qualified customers with mass production expected to begin in Q4 2023.