News: Microelectronics
17 May 2021
Silanna and Transphorm develop 65W USB-C PD GaN adapter reference design
Transphorm Inc of Goleta, near Santa Barbara, CA, USA ā which designs and manufactures JEDEC- and AEC-Q101-qualified 650V and 900V gallium nitride (GaN) field-effect transistors (FETs) for high-voltage power conversion applications ā and Silanna Semiconductor of San Diego, CA, USA, which makes AC/DC and DC/DC power converter ICs, have announced a GaN power adapter reference design.
The solution is an open-frame 65W USB-C power delivery (PD) charger that combines Transphorm’s SuperGaN Gen IV platform with Silanna’s proprietary Active Clamp Flyback (ACF) PWM controller. Together, the technologies yield peak efficiency of 94.5% with an uncased power density of 30W/in3. These performance levels are said to outpace currently available competing solutions using silicon superjunction MOSFETs or e-mode GaN transistors, and furthermore utilize a smaller GaN FET from Transphorm. Silanna and Transphorm’s universal GaN adapter design is suitable for powering laptops, tablets, smartphones and other Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
The SuperGaN FET in the new reference design is Transphorm’s TP65H300G4LSG, a 650V 240mĪ© device in an industry-standard PQFN88 package. It leverages the SuperGaN Gen IV platform, which uses advanced epi and patented design technologies to improve performance. The robust GaN FET also offers high reliability, including what is claimed to be the industry’s best gate robustness. Also, unlike enhancement-mode (E-mode) devices, protective external circuitry such as additional bias rails or level shifters are not needed ā an advantage that produces higher efficiency. Collectively, these and other features further increase the adapter system’s overall power density and reduce bill-of-materials (BoM) costs.
Silanna’s SZ1130 is claimed to be the first fully integrated ACF PWM controller that integrates an adaptive digital PWM controller, an active-clamp FET, an active-clamp gate driver, and a UHV startup regulator. As an ACF solution, it is claimed to deliver higher performance than competing quasi-resonant (QR) controllers and offer the simplest design in the smallest PCB area among all ACF controllers on the market. Silanna’s technology-agnostic design focuses on the ultimate power management challenges with what is claimed to be best-in-class power density and efficiency, yielding unprecedented BoM savings, it is reckoned.
“Transphorm and Silanna Semiconductor offer best-in-class performance in a complete GaN-based reference solution for USB-C PD adapter customers by pairing our SuperGaN devices with Silanna Semiconductor’s novel and highly integrated active-clamp flyback controller,” says Tushar Dhayagude, VP field applications & technical sales, Transphorm. “Our GaN FETs are known to improve efficiency, power dissipation and size of AC/DC chargers, particularly when compared to competitive E-mode GaN and integrated GaN IC solutions. Our partnership is a powerful combination of two innovators that will positively impact the adoption of GaN in power adapters worldwide,” he adds.
“Our ACF controllers are versatile and provide the design flexibility for the charger manufacturers to select their preferred FET technology,” says Ahsan Zaman, Silanna’s director of marketing. “The ACF controller is delivering 94.5% efficiency with the combination of our SZ1130 and Transphorm’s TP65H300G4LSG, achieving industry-leading performance,” he claims. “At Silanna Semiconductor, we are extremely excited to further advance the best-in-class efficiency and power density results by combining our knowledge and expertise with technology ecosystem partners.”
The 65W USB-C PD GaN power adapter reference design’s schematic, design files, and bill of materials are available from the website’s of both manufacturers.
GaN Systems and Silanna release 65W ACF GaN charger reference design
Transphorm introduces SuperGaN power FETs with launch of Gen IV GaN platform
