GaN transistors power telecom equipment and phone chargers

STMicroelectronics adds to it’s STPOWER portfolio with 15 A, 650 V power devices.

Without power, all the telecom equipment &mdash and your cell phone — are quite useless. The SGT120R65AL (datasheet) power GaN transistor from STMicroelectronics can provide 15 A at up to 650 V for power sources ranging with applications ranging from telecom to automotive.

The SGT120R65AL minimizes power losses when turned on. It also features rise and fall times of 6.0 nsec and 9.7 nsec, respectively. It’s low input and output capacitance (125 pF and 50 pF, respectively) makes that possible.

Gallium Nitride (GaN) is a compound wide-bandgap semiconductor material capable of supporting far higher voltages than traditional silicon without compromising on-resistance thus reducing conduction losses. Products implemented in this technology can also be switched much more efficiently, resulting in very low switching losses.

Operation at higher frequencies can result in designing with smaller passive components. That can cut total losses (reduce heat generated) and improve efficiency in power converters. That can result in miniaturization, making PC, tablet, and cell phone power adapters smaller and lighter than today’s chargers.

STMicro says that 650V GaN transistors in development are available now as engineering samples. These include the SGT120R65A2S with 120 mΩ R_DS(on) in an advanced laminated package, which eliminates wire bonding to boost efficiency and reliability in high-power and high-frequency applications, as well as the SGT65R65AL and SGT65R65A2S both with 65 mΩ R_DS(on) in PowerFLAT 5×6 HV and 2SPAK, respectively. The company expects volume production for these products is in H2 2022.