Transphorm GaN FET used in TDK-Lambda’s latest-generation AC-DC power supply module

Transphorm Inc of Goleta, near Santa Barbara, CA, USA — which designs and manufactures JEDEC- and AEC-Q101-qualified high-voltage (HV) gallium nitride (GaN) field-effect transistors (FETs) for high-voltage (HV) power conversion applications — says that TDK-Lambda Corp (a group company of TDK Corp that makes power supplies for industrial equipment) has released its first GaN-based AC-DC power supply.

The full-function 504W-rated PFH500F-28 is TDK-Lambda’s latest-generation AC-DC baseplate-cooled power supply module. Further, it is the latest Transphorm customer product to demonstrate the HV GaN advantages, increasing power efficiency by 5% in a 28% smaller package over the previous PFE500F series.

The PFH500F-28 is a low-profile power module with 28V of output power designed for various harsh-environment applications, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) power supplies, custom fanless power supplies, traffic signaling, and more. TDK-Lambda’s redesigned standard power module uses a bridgeless totem-pole power factor correction (PFC) topology to optimize Transphorm’s TPH3206LDG FET in the popular 8x8 PQFN package.

The development project was led by the TDK-Lambda Americas Dallas, TX team and leveraged Transphorm’s application support team throughout various phases of the three-year initiative.

“Our engineers diligently review new technologies that will benefit our end customers to ensure any new product we release is reliable and a notable advancement over prior models,” says TDK-Lambda’s VP of engineering Jin He. “Our decision to work with Transphorm on our first GaN AC-DC product was based largely on the power semiconductors’ proven quality and reliability as well as the team’s reputation for successful collaboration,” he adds. “Our experience was such that we’ve released the PFH500F-28 with our three-year warranty and are in discussions with Transphorm regarding future projects.”

Transphorm says that its GaN to date has enabled customers to produce computing power supplies, servo motors and telecom power supplies that show advantages in power density, size and system cost. TDK-Lambda’s power module joins them, as the PFH500F-28 delivers the following advantages compared with its silicon-based predecessor:

power efficiency up to 92% (5% more than the PFE500F);
power density of 100W/cubic inch (30% up on the PFE500F);
PMBus monitoring and programming (read/write);
size reduction of 28% (from 122mm x 70mm x 12.7mm to 101.6mm x 61mm x 13.5mm);
reduced size of external capacitive components; and
thermal impact: a 38% reduction in waste heat (requiring less heatsink/cooling than the PFE500F).

Tags: Transphorm GaN-on-Si GaN HEMT Power electronics

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