News: Microelectronics
29 June 2022
Navitas powering Xiaomi’s first in-box GaN 100W laptop fast charger
Gallium nitride (GaN) power integrated circuit firm Navitas Semiconductor of El Segundo, CA, USA and Dublin, Ireland says that its GaNFast power ICs with GaNSense technology are driving the 100W fast chargers supplied ‘in-box’ in the latest Redmi laptop family of Chinese consumer electronics firm Xiaomi Corp.
Founded in 2014, Navitas introduced what it claimed to be the first commercial GaN power integrated circuits. Its proprietary GaNFast power ICs monolithically integrate GaN power field-effect transistors (FETs) with drive, control, sensing 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 or 3x more power in half the size and weight for mobile, consumer, enterprise, eMobility and new energy markets. With more than 150 Navitas patents issued or pending, over 50 million units have been shipped with zero reported field failures.
Xiaomi has adopted GaNFast technology to develop an ultra-compact, high-power-density charger now shipping with all new Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 14 laptops and the integrated-GPU version of the RedmiBook Pro 15.
The new RedmiBook Pro 14 and Pro 15 lightweight 14” and 15” laptops are built around 12th generation Intel Core i5 and Core i7 mobile processors and are suitable for gamers and other users requiring high-performance, portable computing power. Due to Navitas’ GaNFast technology, the ultra-small form-factor 100W fast charger supplied ‘in-box’ fast charges from 0-50% in less than 40 minutes.
Measuring only 60mm x 58mm x 31.6mm (110cc), the Xiaomi 100W achieves a power density of 0.91W/cc with universal input voltage (90-264VAC) and full USB power-delivery output range (5V/3A, 9V/3A, 15V/3A and 20V/5A) to ensure compatibility with a wide range of other devices, including the latest Xiaomi mobile phones. Two Navitas NV6134A GaN power ICs - with GaNSense technology - are used in the charger’s CrCM (critical-conduction mode) boost power-factor correction (PFC) and HFQR (high-frequency quasi-resonant) topologies. The loss-less current-sensing function saves costs and improves charging efficiency, and over-temperature protection, over-current protection, and autonomous standby-mode delivers high system reliability for Xiaomi notebook chargers.
“Since the launch of Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro with GaNFast charger in early 2020, Xiaomi has always been committed to the exploration of charging technology to maintain technological leadership in mobile phone fast-charging applications,” says Xuezhong Zeng, senior VP of Xiaomi Group and president of Smartphone Department. “Now, with our RedmiBook Pro series launching with 100W in-box GaN fast charger, Xiaomi laptops have also entered the era of GaNFast charging. We hope our GaN technology cooperation with Navitas will bring a more efficient and convenient user experience to broader laptop consumers,” he adds.
“Most laptop OEMs are still using heavy, bulky, silicon-based ‘brick’ adapters,” notes Charles Zha, VP & general manager of Navitas China. “Our collaboration with Xiaomi has resulted in a fast-charging mobile adapter that is much smaller and lighter, while delivering significantly improved charging performance.”
Navitas drives Xiaomi’s new ultrafast-charging Note 11 Pro+ smartphone
