Where GaN is Going in 2019…

GaN Talk – Nick Cataldo Jan 07, 2019

As the new year starts, it is worth spending a few minutes to review the successes of 2018 and look ahead to expectations for 2019.

Over the past year, the applications taking advantage of GaN’s superior performance continued to expand and the knowledge base of GaN users continued to broaden. The world has seen in operation the autonomous vehicles that GaN enables. Digital communications have been vastly improved with the use of GaN FETs and ICs in high speed, energy saving envelope tracking power supplies. The dream of a wireless world is coming closer to reality with the emergence of large surface area wireless power.

GaN technology continued to evolve where, in 2018, EPC’s latest generation of FETs and new integrated circuits are able to outperform, while being cost competitive with silicon-based products. This combination of superior performance and competitive pricing has provided the incentive for traditionally conservative design engineers to begin using GaN products in applications, such as dc-dc converters, ac-dc converters, and automotive. For example, 2018 saw a wave of new 48 V_IN DC-DC power supplies, both isolated and non-isolated, adopt our 5^th generation 100 V eGaN FETs for high-end computing and automotive applications.

This year, 2019, is starting with the continued expansion of our 100 V, 200 V and 350 V family through the first quarter and beyond. Additional new product offerings, down to 30 V, are in development and will start their introductions in the first half of 2019 as well. The AEC product line, used in the automotive market, will also continue to expand with new products coming throughout the year for lidar, power train and motor control opportunities.

The greatest opportunity for GaN to impact the performance of power conversion systems comes from the intrinsic ability to integrate both power-level and signal-level devices on the same substrate. EPC has been developing customer-specific GaN ICs for the past several years. The general release of more complex monolithic GaN solutions in 2019 will offer in-circuit performance beyond the capabilities of silicon solutions and enhance the ease of design for power systems engineers. Stay tuned for more information this!

Figure 1: GaN Power IC

The first half of 2019 will offer multiple opportunities to see GaN in real-world applications as EPC participates in several upcoming tradeshows. We would like to share our exciting GaN products with you, so if you are attending any of these shows, contact us to set up a meeting.

January:

At CES in Las Vegas we will be showcasing a ‘world without power cords’, discussing the future of lidar sensors for autonomous vehicles, and hearing the quality that GaN can provide to Class-D audio systems.

February:

At the inaugural GaN Con in Milpitas GaN leaders in Power GaN, including designers, manufacturers, and end-users will discuss the GaN market, technology status, and future evolution

March:

APEC (Applied Power Electronics Conference) is mid-March in Southern California. EPC is honored to be presenting multiple papers and participating in one of the educational seminars. On the show floor, the EPC booth will show how GaN continues to displace silicon at 48 V applications.

2019 will be a pivotal year for GaN. The performance and cost advantages of GaN-on-silicon will result in a majority of applications currently using silicon MOSFETs converting to the smaller, faster, less expensive, and more reliable GaN technology. It will be a year of further innovations for our GaN technology and the further proliferation of EPC GaN solutions, which enable our customers to develop best-in-class end use products.

Connect with EPC to get updates on new product developments throughout the year.

Best wishes for a successful and prosperous 2019 from the EPC team!

Nick Cataldo, Senior Vice President for Global Sales and Marketing