News: Microelectronics
18 February 2020
Navitas’ 65W GaNFast charger power ICs chosen by Xiaomi for Mi 10 Pro smartphone
Navitas Semiconductor Inc of El Segundo, CA, USA says that its GaNFast charging technology has been adopted by China’s Xiaomi for its flagship Mi 10 PRO smartphone.
Founded in 2014, Navitas introduced what it claimed to be the first commercial gallium nitride (GaN) power ICs. The firm says that its proprietary ‘AllGaN’ process design kit (PDK) monolithically integrates GaN power field-effect transistors (FETs) with GaN power, analog and logic circuits, enabling faster charging, higher power density and greater energy savings for mobile, consumer, enterprise, eMobility and new energy markets.
Since GaNFast power ICs can operate up to 100x faster than earlier silicon power chips, it takes only 45 minutes to charge the Mi 10 PRO from 0 to 100%, says Navitas.
Gallium nitride enables extremely small charger size and extremely high charging efficiency. “The 65W GaN charger is only half the size of the 65W traditional charger that comes as standard with our Xiaomi 10 PRO,” notes Xiaomi’s chairman & CEO Jun Lei.
Xiaomi’s 65W GaN charger uses Navitas’ NV6115 and NV6117 GaNFast power ICs, which are optimized for high-frequency, soft-switching topologies. Monolithic integration of FETs, drivers and logic delivers a very small, fast, easy-to-use ‘digital-in, power-out’ high-performance power conversion module. Using GaNFast, Xiaomi’s 65W GaN charger is only 56.3mm x 30.8mm x 30.8mm (53cc), which is half the size of standard adapters.
Xiaomi invested earlier in Navitas to lay the groundwork for this cooperation. Xiaomi’s strategy is to establish upstream and downstream partnerships in the industry chain through capital investment, while taking into account the dual benefits of investment and business. Navitas has hence been able to broaden its sales channels.
“I am very pleased to see Xiaomi’s open attitude towards new materials and new technologies,” comments Navitas’ CEO Gene Sheridan. “From the start, Navitas has focused on the technology application and innovation of GaN materials. GaNFast power ICs are monolithic integration of FET, drive and logic and achieve extremely small application size and high efficiency. For manufacturers who want to lead with technology, GaNFast enables high performance and drives product differentiation,” he adds.
“The battery capacity of smartphones, tablets and laptops is increasing, while consumers are eager to have a faster-charging experience,” says Yingjie Zha, general manager of Navitas Semiconductor China. “GaNFast technology brings the industry a small, efficient charger that can quickly charge electronic products such as mobile phones and laptops.”
