Surface mount GaN transistor reduces power consumption

The GaN is encapsulated into a DFN, surface-mount package. According to the company, it can be used in small areas where conventional mounting is difficult, contributing to a reduction in power consumption for both industrial and consumer electronics, such as AC/DC power supplies, (PFCs, insulated DC/DC converters), battery charging systems, PV power conditioners and EV inverters.

The breakdown voltage of the transistors is 600V in the enhancement mode. Switching speed is 200V/ns and on-resistance is just 54 to 154mΩ.

GaN, when applied to a transistor, has higher expected switching performance and higher breakdown voltage than silicon (Si) or SiC (silicon carbide). The surface mount package provides a small parasitic inductance, which, combined with GaN power transistor characteristics allow high switching performance to be brought out in a smaller size of 8.0 x 8.0 x 1.25mm under 600V high voltage, says the company. This is 43% less than the company’s conventional TO-220 package.

Initial samples of the 10A (PGA26E19BV) and 15A (PGA26E08BV) version will ship in July 2015.