Infineon adds to CoolGaN range
CoolGaN bidirectional switch and CoolGaN Smart Sense bring higher performance to power systems
Infineon has announced two new CoolGaN product technologies: CoolGaN bidirectional switch (BDS) and CoolGaN Smart Sense.
CoolGaN BDS is for soft- and hard-switching, with bidirectional switches available at 40V, 650V and 850V. Target applications include mobile device USB ports, battery management systems, inverters, and rectifiers.
The CoolGaN Smart Sense products feature lossless current sensing, simplifying design and further reducing power losses, as well as transistor switch functions integrated into one package. They are suitable for consumer USB-C chargers and adapters.
The CoolGaN BDS high voltage will be available at 650V and 850V and feature a true normally-off monolithic bi-directional switch with four modes of operation. Based on the gate injection transistor (GIT) technology, the devices have two separate gates with substrate terminal and independent isolated control. They use the same drift region to block voltages in both directions with high performance under repetitive short-circuit conditions. Applications can benefit by using one BDS instead of four conventional transistors, resulting in higher efficiency, density, and reliability, according to Infineon.
The CoolGaN BDS 40 V is a normally-off, monolithic bi-directional switch based on Infineon’s in-house Schottky Gate GaN technology. It can block voltages in both directions, and through a single-gate and common-source design, it is optimised to replace back-to-back MOSFETs used as disconnect switches in battery-powered consumer products. The first 40V CoolGaN BDS product has a 6 mΩ R DS(on), with a range of products to follow. Benefits of using 40 V GaN BDS vs. back-to-back Si FETs include 50 – 75 percent PCB area savings and a reduction of power losses by more than 50 percent, at a lower cost.
The CoolGaN Smart Sense products feature 2 kV electrostatic discharge withstand and can connect to controller current sense for peak current control and overcurrent protection. The current sense response time is ~200 ns, which is equal or less than common controller blanking time for compatibility.
At a higher R DSs(on) of e.g. 350 mΩ, the CoolGaN Smart Sense products are said to offer similar efficiency and thermal performance at lower cost compared to traditional 150mΩ GaN transistors. Moreover, the devices are footprint compatible to Infineon’s transistor-only CoolGaN package, eliminating the need for layout rework and PCB respin, and further facilitating design with Infineon’s GaN devices.
Engineering samples of the CoolGaN BDS 40 V are available now for 6 mΩ and will follow in Q3 2024 for 4 mΩ and 9 mΩ. Samples of the CoolGaN BDS 650 V will be available in Q4 2024, and 850 V will follow early 2025. CoolGaN Smart Sense samples will be available in August 2024.
