Automotive
Hybrid and electric vehicles have a substantial power conversion requirement – a typical drivetrain can be switching 100kW. A typical silicon-based converter will be optimally 95% efficient – therefore having a 5% loss – or 5kW. These losses, as heat, have to be disposed of, and the current solutions involve water-cooling and separate radiator systems. GaN converters can achieve 98 to 99% efficiency – a threefold reduction in losses, and thanks to GaN’s higher operating temperatures, can be air-cooled. Of equal importance the silicon efficiency of 95% is only achieved at optimum full load; at low load the efficiency drops to the order of 70%. Due to the low forward voltage drop of GaN Systems’ diode devices, efficiencies of >90% will be maintained even at low loads.