Infineon Technologies AG of Munich, Germany, has expanded its Gallium
Nitride (GaN)-on-Silicon technology and product portfolio. The company now
offers both cascade and enhancement mode configuration of GaN-based
platforms.
Infineon has optimized the GaN-on-Si for applications requiring superior
energy efficiency and higher power density including Switch Mode Power Supplies
(SMPS) used in mobile power, server, telecom, and consumer goods such as Class
D Audio systems. The company points out that GaN technology significantly
reduces the size and weight of power supplies. Smaller and lighter weight power
supplies can enable designs of end-products including ultra-thin LED TVs.
“Infineon’s GaN-on-Silicon portfolio combined with the
acquisition of International Rectifier’s GaN platform together with our
partnership with Panasonic clearly positions Infineon as the technology leader
in this promising GaN market,” stated Andreas Urschitz, president of
the power management & multimarket division of Infineon Technologies AG.
“In line with our ‘Product to System’ approach, our
customers can now choose enhancement mode or cascode configuration technologies
according to their application/system requirements. At the same time, Infineon
is committed to developing Surface Mount Device (SMD) packages and ICs that
will further leverage the superior performance of GaN in a compact footprint.
As a real world example, using our GaN technology, a laptop charger found on
the market today could be replaced by one that is up to four times smaller and
lighter,” he added.
The expanded line of GaN-based components will include dedicated driver and
controller ICs which enable the higher frequencies and topologies fully
leverage the benefits of the material. A broader patent portfolio, a
GaN-on-Silicon epitaxy process and 100V-600V technologies resulting from the
acquisition of International Rectifier further enhance the component
offering.
Infineon is partnering with Panasonic to jointly introduce devices that
employ Panasonic’s normally-off (enhancement mode) GaN-on-Silicon
transistor structure that is integrated into Infineon’s Surface Mount Device
(SMD) packages. According to Infineon, the combination offers a highly
efficient, easy-to-use 600V GaN power device with dual sourcing.
As a result of the partnership and the new, comprehensive range of GaN
technology, Infineon now provides complete system know-how. Additionally, the
company boasts high-volume manufacturing capacity and second sourcing for
normally-off GaN power devices in an Infineon SMD package.
Infineon and Panasonic Corporation is showcasing samples of a 600V
70mΩ device in a DSO package at APEC 2015 in Charlotte, North Carolina,
March 15-19, 2015. Infineon and Panasonic are also demonstrating both
enhancement mode and cascode configuration technologies. Samples of enhancement
mode and cascode devices are available to customers under specific
Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA). Fully released mid-voltage cascode devices are
also available for complying Class D Audio customers.
