News: Microelectronics
4 December 2023
Transphorm releases two battery charger reference designs for two- and three-wheeled EVs
Transphorm Inc of Goleta, near Santa Barbara, CA, USA — which designs and manufactures JEDEC- and AEC-Q101-qualified gallium nitride (GaN) field-effect transistors (FETs) for high-voltage power conversion — has announced the availability of two new reference designs for electric vehicle (EV) charging applications. The 300W and 600W constant-current/constant-voltage (CC/CV) battery chargers use its 70mΩ TP65H070G4PS and 150mΩ TP65H150G4PS SuperGaN FET devices to deliver highly efficient AC-to-DC power conversion with high power density at competitive costs. The reference designs are intended to enable high-volume production of chargers for 2- and 3-wheel EVs, of which over 14 million and over 45 million are sold annually in India and China, respectively. The reference designs can also be used for applications including fast charging, LED dimmable drivers, gaming consoles, and high-performance laptops.
“GaN’s adoption in the EV market is rapidly advancing. This is largely driven by the technology’s high power density with cost-effective, high-yield manufacturing process when compared to alternative options such as silicon carbide or silicon,” says Tushar Dhayagude, VP of worldwide sales & FAE. “Specifically, our SuperGaN devices have achieved significant traction in two and three wheelers as they exhibit those advantages along with system- and device-level cost benefits versus select silicon solutions,” he adds. “Based on consistent customer design requests, we’re excited to release reference designs that can help on- or off-board charger manufacturers speed up go-to-market with GaN-based systems that can increase the performance and overall usability of next-generation vehicles.”
The constant-current/constant-voltage (CC/CV) lithium-ion battery charging method uses constant current in the initial stage of charging and then switches to constant voltage in later stages of charging when the battery reaches the set charge level. This ensures that batteries are not overcharged.
Open-frame CC/CV AC-to-DC battery chargers
The 300W TDAIO-TPH-ON-CCCV-300W-RD and 600W TDAIO-TPH-MPS-CCCV-600W-RD reference designs pair the SuperGaN FETs and controllers in the popular power factor correction (PFC) and resonant LLC topologies, with the LLC being specifically designed for a wide battery range (from empty to full charge). Transphorm’s SuperGaN platform enables power system developers to maximize the PFC+LLC’s performance potential, delivering the highest efficiency possible from these topologies at a competitive cost.
The reference designs use pure analog controllers versus digital controllers that require firmware. This configuration offers several benefits such as easier designability and simplified product development driven by:
- reduced development resource requirements;
- reduced development time;
- elimination of the need for potentially complex firmware programming/maintenance.
The 300W reference design includes an additional PWM input port for requesting output current levels lower than rated output value, enabling further flexibility for all battery chemistries.
