News: Microelectronics
4 May 2021
GaN Systems releases highest-power-density 3kW LLC reference design for power applications
GaN Systems Inc of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (a fabless developer of gallium nitride-based power switching semiconductors for power conversion and control applications) has introduced a new reference design for a high-density, high-efficiency GaN-based 3kW LLC resonant converter (GS-EVB-LLC-3KW-GS) aimed to reduce design cycles, costs and time to market for companies developing data-center, telecom, and industrial switched-mode power supply (SMPS) applications.
The full-bridge LLC resonant converter design, integrating GaN Systems’ 650V E-mode transistors, exceeds the 80 PLUS Titanium standard for power supply units, achieving high power density (AC/DC PSU) above 100W/inch3 and high efficiency of more than 96%.
Key benefits and features of the 3kW LLC include:
- high density: up to 146W/inch3 (including air-forced cooling);
- high efficiency: peak efficiency >98%;
- small size: <30mm height and meets low-profile 1U data-center form factor;
- high switching frequency, with maximum up to 450kHz; and
- current, short-circuit and over-voltage system protections.
In the data center, power density and efficiency metrics are becoming more significant with demands to deliver more power in a smaller footprint and new regulatory policies, including the European Union’s ‘Lot 9’ 2023, which focuses on data-center infrastructure as related to power-supply and energy-efficiency requirements.
The industry has also been shifting from a ‘dollar per Watt’ to ‘dollar per density’ value, where density is a measure of size and power of the power supply. Smaller power supplies using GaN allow for more storage and memory to be added into the same rack space, allowing for data-center capacity growth without having to build more data centers.
The new reference design is now available for purchase through GaN Systems’ distributors.
