News: Microelectronics
18 August 2020
Transphorm’s second 900V GaN FET enters high-volume production
Transphorm Inc of Goleta, near Santa Barbara, CA, USA — which designs and manufactures JEDEC- and AEC-Q101-qualified 650V and 900V gallium nitride (GaN) field-effect transistors (FETs) — says that its second 900V GaN FET is now in production.
The TP90H050WS offers a typical on-resistance of 50mΩ with a 1kV transient spike rating and is now JEDEC qualified. The primary target markets are broad industrial and renewable energy, including applications such as photovoltaic inverters, battery charging, uninterruptable power supplies (UPS), lighting and energy storage. Additionally, with the 900V portfolio, Transphorm is working its way up the voltage range to include three-phase applications.
Introduced last year, the TP90H050WS is the firm’s second 900V device following the TP90H180PS. The two-chip normally-off power transistor delivers a ±20V gate robustness in a standard TO-247 package, increasing its reliability and designability for power systems. The combination of Transphorm’s high-speed GaN and the thermally robust TO-247 package enables systems to reach greater than 99% efficiency while generating up to 10kW of power in typical half-bridge configurations with bridgeless totem-pole power factor correction (PFC).
“Transphorm’s work on its 900V platform illustrates the capability of high-voltage gallium nitride power transistors,” says Philip Zuk, VP of technical marketing & NA sales. “This device gives us the ability to support applications that were not previously accessible to us,” he adds. “We have received strong interest when sampling these 50mΩ FETs… Their availability status has shifted now to high-volume production to meet customer demand.”
900V GaN in application
Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is currently working with the TP90H050WS in an ARPA-E Circuits program that uniquely brought together Transphorm’s product with IIT’s solid-state switching topologies. The project aims to generate reliable solid-state circuit breaker (SSCBs) for renewable energy microgrids. It includes developing an autonomously operated, programmable and intelligent bi-directional SSCB using the 900V GaN devices.
“Our SSCB project required a non-traditional power conversion solution that not only outperformed mechanical circuit breakers speed-wise, but also helped us reduce power loss,” says Dr John Shen, IIT. “Transphorm’s GaN technology surpassed our expectations. It delivered the full package. High power density, reliable bi-directionality, and, as the only 900V GaN device on the market, unprecedented power output in a small package,” he adds.
900V evaluation board
Transphorm continues to simplify development efforts with its DC-to-AC inverter evaluation board. Designed using four TP90H180PS 170mΩ FETs, the TDINV3500P100-KIT uses a full-bridge topology to support single-phase inverter systems operating at or above 100kHz.
The evaluation board, along with both in-production 900V transistors, are available through distributors Digi-Key and Mouser.
