News: Microelectronics
6 December 2024
VisIC and AVL partner on GaN inverters for EVs
VisIC Technologies Ltd of Ness Ziona, Israel – a fabless supplier of power conversion devices based on gallium nitride (GaN) transistors – and mobility technology company AVL of Graz, Austria (which provides development, simulation and testing in the automotive industry and in other sectors such as rail, marine and energy) have partnered to advance high-efficiency GaN inverter technology for the electric vehicles (EV) market. The collaboration will provide automotive OEMs with power semiconductors that exceed silicon carbide (SiC) performance, while offering lower costs at device and system level.
In a recent test conducted at AVL’s facilities in Germany, an inverter based on VisIC’s GaN-on-silicon D3GaN components (and mounted on AVL’s e-motor test bench and controlled by AVLs SOP eDrive controls algorithm) achieved a benchmark system efficiency level of 99.67% at 10kHz, climbing to over 99.8% efficiency at 5kHz, outperforming comparable SiC inverters by up to 0.5% and cutting energy losses by more than 60%. The AVL and VisIC partnership hence provides an option for automakers striving to balance high efficiency with affordability in EV design, the firms say.
Also, VisIC says that its GaN-on-silicon power devices require significantly less energy and hence CO2 during chip production compared with SiC. Since they can be produced in 200mm and 300mm silicon foundries, scaling production is straightforward, the firm adds.
“With AVL, we’re making cutting-edge GaN inverter technology accessible for even more electric vehicles, establishing a new benchmark for efficiency and cost-effectiveness in the industry,” reckons VisIC’s chief technology officer Gregory Bunin. “Our partnership reflects a shared commitment to driving EV innovation that’s both impactful and accessible, bringing GaN’s unparalleled performance to a broader market,” he adds.
“Working with VisICs new GaN power module for high-power systems enables us to offer our customers cutting-edge solutions that are optimally aligned with the requirements of next-generation drive systems,” Dr Thomas Frey, head of Segment E-Mobility & E-Drive System at AVL Software and Functions GmbH. “These include, among other things, high power density combined with reduced overall system costs,” he adds. “Together, we can significantly advance e-mobility and help reduce the carbon footprint.”
Looking ahead, AVL and VisIC plan to expand their GaN-on-Si platform to include 800V GaN power modules, ensuring that their technology remains scalable and adaptable to the needs of the growing battery electric vehicle (BEV) market.
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