Transphorm adds second 900V GaN FET, targeting three-phase industrial power supplies and automotive converters

Transphorm Inc of Goleta, near Santa Barbara, CA, USA — which designs and manufactures JEDEC- and AEC-Q101-qualified high-voltage (HV) gallium nitride (GaN) field-effect transistors (FETs) for high-voltage (HV) power conversion applications — has launched its second 900V FET, the Gen III TP90H050WS (sampling now), enhancing what is claimed to be the industry’s only 900V GaN product line. The devices now enable three-phase industrial systems and higher-voltage automotive electronics to leverage GaN’s speed, efficiency and power density. Further, the new FET’s platform is based on Transphorm’s 650V predecessor, the only JEDEC- and AEC-Q101-qualified HV GaN technology.

The TP90H050WS has a typical on-resistance of 50mΩ with a 1000V transient rating, offered in a standard TO-247 package. It can reach power levels of 8kW in a typical half bridge while maintaining greater than 99% efficiencies. Its figures of merit for Ron*Qoss (resonant switching topologies) and R on*Qrr (hard switching bridge topologies) are 2-5 times less than those of common superjunction technologies in production — indicating highly reduced switching losses. While a JEDEC-qualified version is slated for first-quarter 2020, customers can design 900V GaN power systems today.

Transphorm’s first 900V device, the TP90H180PS (with a typical on-resistance of 170mΩ in a TO-220 package) is JEDEC qualified and has been available through Digi-Key since 2017. It can reach a peak efficiency of 99%, demonstrating its suitability for 3.5kW single-phase inverters.

“Transphorm’s latest 900V GaN product represents a major milestone for commercial GaN power transistors as it reaches the 1kV mark, an industry first,” claims co-founder & chief operating officer Primit Parikh. “This paves the way for GaN to be a viable choice at these higher voltage nodes,” he adds. “With partial funding from ARPA-E for early risk reduction and Power America for initial product qualification, this effort represents successful public-private partnership that accelerates GaN’s market adoption.”

Transphorm says that its 900V platform provides higher breakdown levels for systems already targeted by its 650V FETs, such as renewables, automotive and various broad industrial applications. It is designed to be deployed in bridgeless totem-pole power factor correction (PFC), half-bridge configurations used in DC-to-DC converters and inverters. The ability to support these topologies at a higher voltage expands Transphorm’s target applications to now include a broad list of three-phase industrial applications, such as uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) and automotive chargers/converters at higher battery voltage nodes.

“900V GaN power devices eliminate barriers to access applications not presently supported with GaN semiconductors,” notes Victor Veliadis, deputy executive director & chief technology officer of PowerAmerica, which partially funded the project. “With innovations like this 900V platform, Transphorm is advancing the industry, creating new customer opportunities,” he comments.

Tags: Transphorm GaN-on-Si GaN HEMT Power electronics

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