Navitas Semiconductor Inc of El Segundo, CA, USA has announced the availability of a 150W AC-DC reference design utilizing its gallium nitride (GaN) power ICs. With a power density of more than 21W/inches3 and efficiency of more than 95%, the NVE021A is more than 2x smaller than typical commercial designs and 40% smaller than the previous best-in-class, it is claimed.
The design can be adapted over a power range of 85-500W to enable a new class of converters to address ultra-thin LED TVs, fast-charging laptop adapters, high-density gaming systems, all-in-one PCs and any other systems seeking high-density or high-efficiency power solutions.
Navitas says that its GaN power ICs enable high-frequency switching to shrink passive components. Soft-switching critical-conduction mode (CrCM) power factor correction (PFC) and LLC DC-DC stages operate at working frequencies up to 300kHz (600kHz during start-up, burst mode) – the fastest-possible speed provided by off-the-shelf controller ICs currently available, it is claimed.
“Navitas GaN power ICs enable breakthrough adapter performance in small size and high efficiency with simple, practical and economical designs,” says Stephen Oliver, VP of sales & marketing. “Silicon-based designs are slow, bulky and heavy,” he adds. “This reference design is the first in a series that will demonstrate how new GaN power ICs can increase frequencies 5x or more with efficiencies of 95%, enabling a 3-5x increase in power densities for a broad range of AC-DC applications”.
The NVE021A reference design (150W, AC to 12VDC) is immediately available direct from Navitas at a price of $465 each, which includes a comprehensive user guide/test report with all schematic and layout design files, plus bill of material.
