News: Microelectronics
22 March 2022
Navitas announces first 20-year warranty for GaN ICs
Gallium nitride (GaN) power integrated circuit firm Navitas Semiconductor of El Segundo, CA, USA and Dublin, Ireland has announced a 20-year limited warranty for its GaNFast technology – 10x longer than typical silicon, SiC or discrete GaN power semiconductors – and a critical accelerator for GaN’s adoption in data center, solar and electric vehicle (EV) markets, it is reckoned.
GaN runs up to 20x faster than silicon chips. Navitas’ proprietary GaNFast power ICs integrate GaN power field-effect transistors (FETs) and GaN drive plus control, sensing and protection circuits. The result is said to be easy-to-use, high-speed, high-performance ‘digital-in, power-out’ building blocks that deliver up to 3x faster charging in half the size and weight, and with up to 40% energy savings compared with earlier silicon solutions.
Navitas says that the unprecedented 20-year limited warranty is founded on its holistic approach to product reliability through design, testing, characterization and certification. As a pioneer in GaN power ICs and a founding member of the industry’s JEDEC JC-70.1 GaN standards committee, Navitas developed proprietary high-speed production and qualification testing to set standards in GaN reliability.
“With over 40 million units shipped, 174 billion hours in the field and zero reported GaN-related field failures, plus 5.8 billion equivalent device hours testing, Navitas is now able to offer a 20-year warranty for GaNFast power ICs,” says Anthony Schiro, VP quality and sustainability. “As we describe in our sustainability report, each GaN IC saves 4kg of CO2. So, the faster [that] customers can adopt GaN, the better it will be for our environment. GaN could save up to 2.6Gtons CO2 per year by 2050,” he reckons.
Navitas provides GaN ICs fast and ultra-fast chargers for consumer mobile applications, with customers including Samsung, Dell, Lenovo, Xiaomi, OPPO, LG and Motorola. With dedicated design centers for data center and EV, plus availability of high-power GaNFast power ICs, Navitas reckons that its high-volume production quality and commitment to long-term reliability are accelerating the adoption of GaN technology.
“As leading-edge customers like Enphase (solar), Brusa (EV) and Compuware (data center) confirm GaN’s technical and environmental benefits over legacy silicon chips, they are laser-focused on critical, long-term reliability,” says CEO & co-founder Gene Sheridan. “GaN power ICs have a 6x-lower FIT rate (failures in time) than silicon,” he adds.
The 20-year limited warranty applies to all packaged Navitas GaNFast power ICs in mass production.
