Transphorm, a pioneer and global supplier of high-reliability, high-performance gallium nitride (GaN) power conversion products announced that the company has won a contract from the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Energy Research Projects Agency (ARPA-E). The project, part of the ARPA-E CIRCUITS program through a subcontract with the Illinois Institute of Technology, includes the provision of a four-quadrant switch (FQS) using gallium nitride. These switches can be used in a variety of power conversion applications such as current source inverters, cyclo converters in drives and microinverters, matrix switches, and solid-state circuit breakers in novel applications. This initiative has been driven by Transphorm's deep GaN engineering expertise, particularly its bidirectional GaN products, and industry and university interest in further exploring the application possibilities of lateral GaN switching.

Transphorm will prototype the FQS platform using its 650 V GaN technology, continuing to offer the industry's highest threshold voltage in a 4-pin TO-247 package. The project is expected to be completed within a year.

The Importance of Innovation in True Bidirectional GaN Switches

Transphorm's standard lateral gallium nitride field effect transistor (FET) devices provide bidirectional current flow natively. However, some applications, such as motor-driven current source inverters, cyclo converters, and matrix converters, also require bidirectional voltage control to efficiently manage power flow. The traditional way to achieve this functionality is to place two FETs in series, use the body diode of the element to direct and control the current flow, or require two insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) and two diodes, so Four elements are required.

Also known as a true bidirectional switch, FQS replaces the two FET or two IGBT + two diode approach with a single element capable of bidirectional voltage control and bidirectional current flow. FQS uses two gates to block the voltage of any polarity or flow of current in any direction. Also, as a single component, FQS can reduce the number of components required to achieve the desired effect, resulting in higher power density, improved reliability, and lower overall system cost.

Tom Jahns, professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and fellow of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (FIEEE), said: "It is very exciting to see bidirectional switches using gallium nitride getting closer to commercial mass production. Exciting. Power electronics engineers have been anxiously awaiting the availability of MOS-gate bidirectional switches, as they are a key component in enabling promising power converter topologies that can improve efficiency, power density, and fault tolerance in many applications They also present exciting opportunities in terms of capabilities. They are also expected to significantly improve the commercial viability of a number of new products, including solid-state circuit breakers and integrated motor drives, which can be made more compact than currently used silicon-based switches. and efficient."

Dr. Rakesh Lal, technical researcher at Transphorm, said: "Based on the adoption of GaN devices today, the time for FQS bidirectional devices is ripe. Because the voltage blocking region can be shared, lateral GaN technology enables the production of compact FQS wafers, which is very important. This is not possible with vertical power device technologies using silicon or silicon carbide, giving GaN FQS significant performance and cost advantages. With our FQS, users can achieve true bi-directionality with a single fast low loss switch "We believe that the partnership driven by the CIRCUITS program will inspire the emergence of next-generation power conversion products."

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