GOLETA, CALIF.-- April 28, 2023 -- Transphorm, Inc. (Nasdaq: TGAN)—a pioneer in and global supplier of high reliability, high performance gallium nitride (GaN) power conversion products—announced today the availability of six (6) surface mount devices (SMDs) available in Industry Standard PQFN 5x6 and 8x8 packages. These SMDs deliver the reliability and performance advantages offered by Transphorm’s patented SuperGaN® d-mode two-switch normally-off platform in the package configurations typically used by competitive e-mode GaN devices. As a result, these six devices can easily serve as a first design source or as pin-to-pin drop-in replacements and/or secondary sources for e-mode GaN solutions.

For power systems that require additional thermal performance from the SuperGaN platform, Transphorm also offers SMDs in optimized Performance packages. All Transphorm devices offer easy designability and drivability regardless of packaging given the d-mode configuration’s use of a low-voltage Silicon MOSFET paired with the GaN HEMT. This platform configuration also allows for the use of standard, off-the-shelf controllers and/or drivers adding to the Transphorm portfolio’s superior drivability and designability.

“Transphorm continues to produce a strong GaN device portfolio, one that covers the widest power spectrum today. We’ve solidified our low power strategy with the release of these Industry Standard packages, which follow the recently announced SiP developed with Weltrend Semiconductors,” said Philip Zuk, Senior Vice President of Business Development and Marketing, Transphorm. “Customers now have a choice of how they can tap into the advantages of SuperGaN whether it be through Performance packages, pin-to-pin e-mode compatible Industry Standard packages, or a System-in-Package.”

SuperGaN Drop-In Replacement Advantages

Replacing e-mode devices with SuperGaN d-mode FETs has proven to deliver higher performance and lower operating temperature through lower conduction losses, resulting in longer lifetime reliability. This is due to the fundamental intrinsic superiority of the d-mode GaN normally-off device vs. the e-mode GaN normally-off device. One example of such validation can be found in a recent head-to-head comparison wherein 50 mΩ e-mode was replaced by 72 mΩ SuperGaN technology in a 280 W gaming laptop charger: https://bit.ly/diraztbISP.

In the charger analysis, the SuperGaN FETs operated at the controller’s output voltage range (whereas e-mode had to level shift) with cooler temperatures. The SuperGaN temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) is approximately 25 percent lower than that of e-mode, contributing to the lower conduction losses. Additionally, the peripheral component count was reduced by 20%, suggesting a lower BOM cost.