Cambridge GaN Devices (CGD), the fabless, clean-tech semiconductor company that develops energy-efficient GaN-based power devices that make greener electronics possible, is addressing higher power industrial applications with its ICeGaN™ technology which has already proved itself rugged, reliable and easy-to-use in high volume consumer devices. At the APEC 2024, IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition, the company is introducing new reference designs and showing demos which address the broad and diverse industrial market.
Andrea Bricconi | Chief Commercial Officer, CGD
“We are acutely aware of the increasing power requirements of industrial applications, and the need for high efficiency. For example, as the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) proliferates, the power demanded by the exponential growth in power demanded by datacentres is growing almost exponentially. Other applications, such as solar inverters, amplifiers, transport and smart mobility, process control and manufacturing are also interested in GaN and the feedback we have received is that they love the simplicity of our ‘Drive it Like a MOSFET’ approach.”
At APEC, visitors to the booth are able to see the progress that CGD is making to support both emerging and existing markets for GaN technology..
With a high power density of 23 W/in3, GGD’s 350 W PFC/LLC reference design has an average efficiency of 93%, and a no-load power consumption of 150 mW. The CrM Totem Pole PFC + Half-Bridge LLC PSU has been realised using CGD’s 650 V, 55 mΩ, H2 series ICeGaN technology, and delivers 20 V / 17.5 A output.
The result of a partnership deal struck last year with Neways Electronics, a 3 kW photo-voltaic inverter is used to boost the DC solar voltage to a stable DC link voltage. With a maximum efficiency of 99.22% due to zero-current switching, it is a perfect example of how CGD’s GaN HEMT structure is simple for engineers to use, since it employs a standard silicon controller from Analog Devices Inc.
ICeGaN has been employed by AGD Productions in its compact AGD DUET amplifier which is rated at 300W 4Ω. This is the first time the company has used a 100% GaN power transistor design for both the power stage and the amplifier. Finally, the GaNext project, a consortium of 13 partners from three nations has delivered compact 1 kW intelligent power modules featuring integrated drive, voltage control and protection circuits using CGD’s ICeGaN.
