GaN Talk Blog

As artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and space systems redefine what’s possible in power electronics, gallium nitride (GaN) technology continues to lead the transformation. In a recent interview with Electronic Product Design & Test (EPDT), Dr. Alex Lidow, CEO and co-founder of EPC, shared his perspective on how GaN is reshaping the semiconductor landscape — and what’s next for this fast-evolving technology.

Prognosticators do not often risk their reputations by giving their predictions a “checkup” midway through the period of their predictions. But, I am going to give it a shot and here we go…

In March 2010 Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) proudly launched our GaN technology at the CIPS conference in Nuremberg, Germany.  Parts and development kits were readily available off-the shelf and therefore designers could immediately get started with a new state-of-the-art semiconductor technology.

At that time, we listed four key attributes we believed a new semiconductor technology needed in order to be really disruptive to the end markets.  A lot has happened in the six years since.  GaN has continued to ascend as the presumptive replacement for the aging power MOSFET, yet there are still a few design engineers and technical managers that remain skeptical.  So let’s look again at these four key attributes and see where GaN stands in addressing them.