Half-bridge power ICs in the high-frequency power electronics revolution

Navitas Semiconductor offers the industry's first GaNSense half-bridge power ICs. These half-bridge ICs provide a new level of MHz switching frequencies while lowering the system cost and complexity compared to current discrete solutions.

GaNSense half-bridge power ICs combine two GaN FETs with drive, control, sensing, autonomous protection, and level-shift isolation to produce a fundamental power-stage building block for power electronics. This revolutionary single-package solution decreases component count and footprint by over 60% compared to existing discretes, which cuts system cost, size, weight, and complexity. The integrated GaNSense technology allows unprecedented autonomous protection for improved reliability and robustness, combined with loss-less current sensing for higher efficiency and energy savings. The high integration levels also eradicate circuit parasitics and delays, making MHz-frequency operation a reality for many AC-DC-power topologies, including LLC resonant, AHB, and ACF. The GaNSense half-bridge ICs are also an excellent fit for totem-pole PFC and motor-drive applications.

These ICs are expected to have a notable impact in all the company's target markets, including mobile fast chargers, consumer power adapters, data centre power supplies, solar inverters, energy storage, and EV applications.

"After bipolar transistors were replaced by silicon MOSFETs in the late 70s and early 80s, the introduction of Navitas GaN technology represents the second revolution in power, with a huge increase in switching frequency and efficiency, and major reductions in system size and cost," noted Gene Sheridan, CEO. "Our initial GaNFast ICs enabled an increase from 50-60 kHz to 200-500 kHz, and now the GaNSense half-bridges elevate those benefits to the MHz range. The GaN revolution continues!"

The initial family includes the NV6247, rated at 650V, 160mOhms (dual), and the NV6245C, rated at 275mOhms (dual), both in an industry-standard, low-profile, low-inductance, 6mm x 8mm PQFN package.