Power integrations releases ground-breaking 1250-Volt GaN switcher IC

InnoSwitch 3-EP 1250 V ICs are the newest members of Power Integrations' InnoSwitch family of off-line CV/CC QR flyback switcher ICs, which feature synchronous rectification, FluxLink safety-isolated feedback and an array of switch options: 725 V silicon, 1700 V silicon carbide, and PowiGaN in 750 V, 900 V and now 1250 V varieties.

The switching losses for Power Integrations' proprietary 1250 V PowiGaN technology are less than a third of that seen in equivalent silicon devices at the same voltage. This results in power conversion efficiency as high as 93% - enabling highly compact flyback power supplies that can deliver up to 85 W without a heatsink.

Radu Barsan, Vice President of Technology at Power Integrations, said: "Power Integrations continues to advance the state of the art in high-voltage GaN technology development and commercial deployment, rendering even the best high-voltage silicon MOSFETs obsolete along the way. We were first to market with high-volume shipments of GaN-based power-supply ICs in 2019, and earlier this year introduced a 900-volt version of our GaN-based InnoSwitch products. Our ongoing development of higher voltage GaN technology, illustrated here by our new 1250 V devices, extend the efficiency benefits of GaN to an even wider range of applications, including many currently served by silicon-carbide technology."

Designers using the new InnoSwitch3-EP 1250 V ICs can confidently specify an operating peak voltage of 1000 V, which allows for industry-standard 80% de-rating from the 1250 V absolute maximum. This provides significant headroom for industrial applications and is particularly valuable in challenging power grid environments where robustness is an essential defence against grid instability, surge and other power perturbations.