News: Microelectronics
30 August 2021
Navitas and SHARGE shrink 100W fast charger by a further 12%, now 60% smaller than silicon solution
Navitas Semiconductor of El Segundo, CA, USA and Dublin, Ireland has announced the launch by SHARGE (Shine Technology (Shenzhen) Co Ltd) of the upgraded 100W GaN Charger Pro, which is reckoned to be 60% smaller than legacy silicon four-output chargers, and 12% smaller than the 2020 GaN model, with optimized design and performance. With 3x USB Type-C and 1x USB Type-A outputs, the GaN Pro can simultaneously fast-charge four mobile devices, from earbuds and smartphones up to the 16” Apple MacBook Pro using dynamic power sharing to optimize charging speeds.
Founded in 2014, Navitas introduced what it claimed to be the first commercial gallium nitride power integrated circuits. Its proprietary GaNFast power ICs monolithically integrate GaN power field-effect transistors (FETs) and GaN drive plus control and protection circuits in a single SMT package. Since GaN is reckoned to run up to 20x faster than silicon, GaNFast power ICs are said to deliver up to 3x faster charging and 3x more power in half the size and weight, and with up to 40% energy savings compared with silicon chips. An estimated $13.1bn market opportunity includes mobile fast chargers and adapters, data centers, solar energy and electric vehicles (EVs).
By exploiting the high-speed, high-efficiency performance of GaNFast technology, SHARGE’s 100W GaN Pro measures only 77mm x 59mm x 29mm (131cc) to achieve a power density of 0.76W/cc at a lightweight 220g, and retails for only RMB535 (about $83).
The 100W GaN Charger Pro features three USB-C ports and one USB-A port, supporting PD/QC/PPS and other common protocols. The C1 and C2 ports alone can deliver up to 100W of power, while the C3 and A1 ports alone can deliver up to 20W and 22.5W, respectively. When multiple interfaces are used simultaneously, it can provide power to different devices through dynamic power distribution. With four charging ports, users can replace four regular silicon single-port chargers with one charger, saving bulk, weight and AC-outlets.
To achieve the size and weight reductions, the 100W GaN Charger Pro uses GaNFast power ICs in two high-speed ‘soft-switching’ topologies. The first is a CrCM boost power-factor correction (PFC) circuit, using Navitas’ NV6127 (125mΩ) GaN power ICs to convert rectified AC power to a stable 400V DC rail. This is followed by a high-speed, isolating LLC DC-DC stage with two NV6115 (170mΩ) ICs to efficiently step-down the voltage to ~20V for the USB-PD output stages. A single system-controller IC (MPS HR1211) operates both circuits. The GaNFast ICs are rated at 650/800V, and up to 2MHz switching frequency in small QFN SMT packages. Thanks to the integration of GaN FET, GaN drive, protection and control, no external drivers are needed (which saves PCB space) and high-speed (switching-frequency) operation shrinks the size and cost of transformers, filters and capacitors.
“As a pioneer in GaN fast charging, with rich experience in design, production, certification and launch, XinSPower has become the ‘go-to’ partner for Asus, IDMIX, Baseus, SHARGE, ZENDURE, MOMAX and other brands,” claims Xianqing Liu, general manager of industrial fast-charger manufacturer XinSPower (Shenzhen Xinspower Technology Co Ltd), which was founded in 2008 and has become the GaNFast foundry for those brands. “GaN will be used in more high-power charging and more diversified charging devices in the future,” he adds. “XinSPower and Navitas will jointly come up with GaN-enabled products – e.g. wireless charger, power strips, mobile power and other more diversified charging applications - to help major brands to create breakthrough models.”
