May 2020

MARKET NEWS 11 www.power-mag.com Issue 2 2020 Power Electronics Europe Power Integrations announced in March an expansion of its Innoswitch3 CV/CC flyback switcher ICs incorporating a 750 V PowiGaN™ transistor, making it the so far highest voltage rated GaN device on the market. The new INN3x78C switcher IC enables compact, efficient power supplies delivering between 27 W and 55 W without heatsinks. The ICs are housed in the same high-creepage, safety-compliant InSOP™-24D package as larger members of the GaN-based InnoSwitch3 families, which target up to 120 W. Its exceptional efficiency – up to 94% efficient across line and load, PowiGaN technology is also extremely robust, making them resistant against line surges and swells commonly seen in regions with unstable mains voltage. This enables OEMs to specify a single power supply design to be used worldwide. Applications for the new parts include USB PD and high-current chargers/adapters for mobile devices, as well as set-top boxes, displays, networking and gaming products and appliances – especially those aiming to comply with the planned European Energy Labeling Regulation. Comments PI’s CEO Balu Balakrishnan his GaN strategy: “Most of our new products incorporate GaN due to its higher efficiency and switching frequency capability, which relates to smaller and lighter power supplies. The obvious market for such products is the cell phone charger, with its increasing demand for higher power coming from 5 G and fast charging. But also the TV market is very interested in GaN due to efficiency regulations, and thirdly the appliance market looks for elimination of heatsinks in their products. Heatsinks are due their mass a weak point when vibrations occur and thus a reliability problem. And overall efficiency is here also a prerequisite. Also GaN can withstand short-term transients much better than Silicon, which makes this technology more robust. Since we are providing system-level solutions for power supplies the GaN switch is combined with the controller in the same package, we have fully control on the switching behavior of the IC and its protection. Another point is the lossless current sensing technology which eliminates shunts, we use either the on-resistance of the GaN switch itself or we use a sense FET. Thus we can guarantee to deliver a fully protected device. Thus the future of GaN is very bright.” www.power.com/innoswitch3 Power Integrations Expands GaN Power Range PI’s CEO Balu Balakrishnan expects a bright future for GaN Closed-loop current transducers, based on LEM ASIC custom Hall Effect, measure leakage current up to 2 KHz frequency. Used in transformerless photovoltaic (PV) inverters for the residential market, LDSR measures AC and DC fault currents, ensuring the safety of people near the inverter. LDSR offers a competitive price, low dimensions and complies with all regulatory standards. LDSR is an excellent alternative to expensive fluxgate solutions due to its small footprint and simple construction. • 300 mA nominal current • PCB mounting • Small dimensions & light weight • -40 to +105˚C operating • Single or three phase configuration www.lem.com LDSR series Safe photovoltaic inverters for every home