News: Microelectronics
19 July 2022
Anker partners with Infineon, Navitas, Innoscience and Southchip to develop all-GaN fast chargers
Mobile charging and consumer electronics products firm Anker Innovations of Changsha, Hunan, China has partnered with gallium nitride (GaN) technology firms to develop a new generation of charging solutions for both home and on-the-go.
“GaN is allowing us to completely change the way we charge our electronics by delivering better power transfer efficiency, faster-charging speeds, and smaller, more portable chargers,” says CEO Steven Yang. “Our partners provided exclusive access to cutting-edge GaN technology that empowered us to create chargers that last longer and are more sustainable.”
To develop its new, higher-watt GaN chargers (with power output of over 100W), Anker partnered with semiconductor manufacturer Infineon Technologies AG of Munich, Germany as well as GaN power integrated circuit firm Navitas Semiconductor of El Segundo, CA, USA and Dublin, Ireland. By applying their technology, Anker was able to increase the efficiency of its new GaN chargers, reducing both the electricity lost by the charger while in use as well as the chargers’ carbon footprint.
“By combining Infineon’s Hybrid Flyback and CoolGaN switch in Anker’s new charging lineup, we achieved a system efficiency of 95%, amongst the highest level in industry, reducing energy losses by about 20% in comparison with other charging solutions,” reckons Adam White, Infineon division president of Power & Sensor Systems. “This is the first time Infineon’s HFB architecture and the CoolGaN switch have been applied together to any commercially available consumer electronics,” he adds.
“Navitas’ next-generation GaNFast power ICs with GaNSense technology are used in the latest lineup of Anker GaN chargers, replacing slow and inefficient legacy silicon materials, reaching 97% peak efficiency and with up to 25% energy savings,” says Navitas’ CEO Gene Sheridan. “By adopting our latest technology, Anker can reduce the CO2 footprint of the whole charger by up to 30% versus legacy solutions.”
For its new, lower-watt GaN chargers (with power output of under 100W), Anker partnered with GaN power device manufacturer Innoscience Technology of Suzhou, China and Shanghai-based high-performance semiconductor design firm Southchip Semiconductor Technology Co Ltd.
“By using all GaN FET technology, each charger in Anker’s new series is powered by two Innoscience GaN power chips on both the AC side and DC side (an all-GaN solution),” notes Innoscience’s founder Wei Wei Luo. “The new Anker chargers take full advantage of GaN, bringing its system’s efficiency and power density to a new level,” he adds.
“Southchip’s proprietary GaN differential drive technology is used in Anker’s new chargers, which highly integrates the GaN power devices and controllers to ensure the reliability of the system,” says Southchip’s CEO Stefan Ruan. “The lab test data shows that, with 100% GaN, the energy loss of the AC-to-DC circuit is reduced by 7.2%, and the circuit efficiency is greatly improved.”
Anker’s new generation of GaN chargers will feature the latest version of PowerIQ, the company’s proprietary technology that allows chargers to intelligently detect the power needs of each connected device. Anker partnered with digital-analog (mixed-signal) hybrid system-on-chip (SoC) design firm Zhuhai iSmartware Technology Co Ltd to develop the latest PowerIQ.
“iSmarWare’s new SoC single-chip solution for high-current and high-voltage DC-DC PD fast charging greatly simplifies the hardware circuit design and, together with Anker’s own PowerIQ, greatly reduces the energy consumed by the chargers by 40%,” says iSmartWare’s CEO Eric Li.
Anker’s new lineup of GaN chargers is being unveiled at a virtual launch event on 25 July at 9am US Pacific Time. The event is being streamed on Anker.com as well as Anker’s Youtube, Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Navitas’ GaNFast power ICs powering Anker’s 100W fast charger
Navitas and Anker sign strategic partnership for next-gen mobile fast chargers
