News: Microelectronics
24 March 2021
Navitas’ GaNFast power ICs adopted by LG for lightest laptop
Navitas Semiconductor Inc of El Segundo, CA, USA says that LG Electronics has adopted gallium nitride (GaN) technology for the first time, using its GaNFast power ICs.
While LG’s gram laptop incorporates a heavyweight Intel i5-1135G7 Tiger Lake processor and an 80Wh battery, it is certified by the Guinness Book of Records as being the world’s lightest 16” laptop, at only 2.62lbs (1190g). The gram is supplied with a matching powerful and lightweight 65W fast charger ‘in-box’, using the NV6125 GaNFast power IC. With the USB-C ‘power delivery’ (PD) functionality, the same 65W charger can also power tablets, smartphones and audio earbuds safely and quickly.
GaN is reckoned to run up to 20x faster than silicon, and enables up to 3x more power or 3x faster charging in half the size and weight. Founded in 2014, Navitas introduced what it claimed to be the first commercial GaN power ICs, which monolithically integrate GaN power field-effect transistors (FETs) with drive, control and protection circuits, enabling faster charging, higher power density and greater energy savings for mobile, consumer, enterprise, eMobility and new energy markets.
“As laptops and smartphones get more powerful yet thinner and lighter, it’s time for fast chargers to upgrade from old, slow and heavy silicon ‘bricks’ to new, fast and lightweight gallium nitride technology,” says Navitas’ CEO & co-founder Gene Sheridan. “LG’s adoption of fast-charging, lightweight GaN is a perfect match for the world-record gram laptop.”
The cool-running NV6125 GaNFast power IC is used in a high-frequency quasi-resonant (HFQR) circuit. The adapter was designed and built for LG by Shenzhen Honor Electronics Company, with support from local Navitas application engineering.
“Gallium nitride is the future of fast charging for all of us,” believes Albert Wang, vice chairman of the board & vice general manager of Shenzhen Honor Electronic Co Ltd. “Honor is excited to partner with Navitas to take the lead in adopting GaNFast power ICs in the global laptop market and successfully create this future-facing, faster, lighter and more efficient laptop charging solution. GaNFast power ICs are fast and efficient, so we can design a great charger, and they’re also easy-to-use, so our development cycle is more dependable, with maximized chance of ‘first-time right’ and faster time-to-market,” he comments.
Navitas ships 13 millionth GaNFast Power ICs with zero failures
