Introduction to the current development of GaN applications in the world

Since Anker released the world's first GaN charger on October 25, 2018, officially introducing GaN into the consumer electronics field, major GaN manufacturers have been involved in related products in just a few years. Currently, the GaN consumer electronics market is a red ocean with increasingly fierce competition.

Faced with the current application status of GaN in the consumer electronics field, relevant enterprises have begun to seek new incremental markets, and the application of GaN technology has gradually extended to other application scenarios such as new energy vehicles, photovoltaics, and data centers. The special value of GaN is continuously being released in multiple fields beyond consumer electronics。

01

GaN is accelerating 'getting on the car'

Under the trend of electrification and intelligence in automobiles, more and more electronic power systems are being installed in cars. Compared with traditional silicon materials, power devices based on GaN materials have higher power output density and energy conversion efficiency, and can make the system smaller and lighter, effectively reducing the volume and weight of power electronic components. GaN has thus found a good opportunity for development in the field of new energy vehicles.

With the outbreak of the new energy vehicle market, GaN has been the first to be applied in car mounted LiDAR products, and has certain potential applications in components such as car chargers (OBC) and DC/DC converters, with a promising future. Under the trend, vehicle manufacturers, component suppliers, GaN related manufacturers, and others are trying to introduce GaN products into the field of new energy vehicles.

The superior switching performance makes GaN more suitable for use in car LiDAR. With the increasing application of LiDAR in mass production of new energy vehicles, GaN device products have become a hot commodity. In 2023, Innolux's low-voltage GaN products for automotive specifications have been applied in the in vehicle LiDAR of leading car companies and achieved mass production. InnoTech will also launch a new 100V automotive grade GaN device by the end of 2023, which has passed AEC-Q101 certification. This product is also suitable for automotive grade LiDAR applications in autonomous driving and other advanced driving assistance systems.

GaN Systems presented a reference design for 11kW/800V gallium nitride car chargers at the Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC 2023), focusing on new energy vehicle car chargers (OBCs). Compared with SiC products, the power density increased by 36% and the overall bill of materials (BOM) cost decreased by at least 15%. In addition, GaNPower has also begun to layout the research and development of GaN applications in OBC, and has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with automotive electronics company Magna Group in Canada.

VisiC, a provider of GaN solutions for high-voltage automotive applications, has set its sights on electric vehicle inverters. In December 2021, VisiC began collaborating with automotive powertrain technology company Hofer Powertrain to develop GaN based inverters for 800V automotive applications. In September 2023, VisiC began working with compound semiconductor material supplier IQE to develop high reliability D-type GaN power products for electric vehicle inverters.

It is worth mentioning that Bosch is developing a 1200V gallium nitride technology for automotive production in Europe. In the field of new energy vehicles, GaN devices currently mainly occupy applications below 400V and have a large development space in the mid to low end automotive market. At the same time, GaN devices are being developed for high-voltage applications. In addition to Bosch's 1200V gallium nitride technology for automotive use, GaNPower has demonstrated the first 1200V single-chip (E-type GaN power device) to the industry.

Overall, the development potential of gallium nitride in the field of new energy vehicles cannot be underestimated, and it is accelerating its position in the spotlight of the application stage.

02

GaN continues to penetrate the photovoltaic field

In the field of photovoltaics, GaN photovoltaic inverters can increase power density by more than 5 times. The breakthrough progress in applications has provided another market for GaN power devices to unleash their value.

As early as November 2022, American photovoltaic company Solarnative announced that its micro photovoltaic inverter Power Stick was equipped with GaN devices provided by EPC, achieving the best power efficiency in the industry - increasing power density by 5 times.

The application of GaN devices has significantly improved the performance of photovoltaic inverters, attracting the attention of many manufacturers. Focusing on the theme of introducing GaN into photovoltaic inverters, relevant manufacturers have initiated a series of actions.

In terms of products, InnoSeco will start applying GaN to the photovoltaic field in July 2023, in order to further reduce module size and improve system efficiency. At the APEC 2024 exhibition at the end of February this year, Innolux showcased a 2KW micro inverter solution, which was paired with 150V GaN and 650V GaN. Compared to traditional Si solutions, the volume of 2KW micro inverters is reduced by about 20%, and power device losses are reduced by 35%. This not only significantly improves system performance but also reduces costs.

In terms of cooperation, in December 2023, EET Company selected EPC's enhanced gallium nitride (eGaN) ®) Power transistor for its new SolMate ® Green solar balcony products. Infineon reached a cooperation agreement with Workstation in February this year to use GaN power devices in the converters of their portable power plants.

By importing GaN devices, EET and Workstation's related products have significantly improved efficiency, switching frequency, and significantly reduced volume, weight, and system costs.

More and more application cases indicate that GaN is expected to become one of the "main forces" in the photovoltaic industry.

03

Progress of GaN Application in Data Center Field

The power supply and cooling system of servers consume a large part of the operating costs of data centers, and GaN can provide excellent performance and efficiency, reducing the demand for cooling systems in data centers, making them more energy-efficient, and ultimately making data centers more cost-effective. Therefore, data center engineers are increasingly inclined to use power modules equipped with GaN devices.

In terms of the application of GaN in data center power modules, Insec has launched a 1kW DCDC power module equipped with 100V SolidGaN and a 2kW PSU solution equipped with 650V GaN, which meet the current demand for efficient and high power density in data center power supply from AI and cloud computing.

And nano micro semiconductors are based on their latest high-power gallium nitride chip GaNSafe ™ The CRPS185 3200W Titanium Plus efficiency server power supply, with an ultra-high power density of 98W/inch ³ and an extremely high peak efficiency of 96.52%, has become a new benchmark for data center server power products.

In addition, CGD is collaborating with Group Optoelectronics Technology and Cambridge University Technical Services (CUTS) to design and develop advanced, efficient, and high power density data center power products using GaN.

GaN itself has low switching losses and is very suitable for use in power modules in data centers. Relevant cases have been implemented, and it may still be extended to other components beyond power supply in the future. Its prospects in the field of data centers are promising.

04

summary

Consumer electronics is a market where GaN devices have been widely shipped, and PD chargers equipped with GaN devices are expected to become mainstream products for mobile phones and laptops. In the future, GaN is likely to penetrate into more types of consumer electronics products.

New energy vehicles are also one of the markets with great potential for GaN applications. GaN can be used in scenarios such as traction inverters, motor control and drive, OBC, DC/DC converters, and power modules on laser radar in new energy vehicles. Currently, relevant automotive grade GaN products have been practically applied and will continue to be optimized and upgraded towards high voltage, high power density, and high reliability.

In the field of photovoltaics, some micro inverter products have already introduced GaN devices. The value of GaN devices lies in promoting the miniaturization and lightweighting of photovoltaic inverters, significantly reducing costs, and other aspects. It is expected to promote the continuous extension of photovoltaic inverters to household and other scenarios.

As the computing power and power of data centers continue to rise, energy consumption is also increasing. The industry is committed to continuously improving power density in the same volume, and GaN has advantages in improving power density while ensuring high efficiency in various load states. Therefore, more and more data center manufacturers are beginning to introduce power modules using GaN devices. In addition, GaN can also be used for high-speed communication modules in data centers, providing faster, more stable, and reliable data transmission. After the full potential of GaN applications in the data center field is released, GaN manufacturers are expected to gain another incremental market.

At present, the application scenarios of GaN are mostly concentrated in the range of medium and low voltage power devices below 650V. With the continuous improvement of technology and cost optimization, GaN has the ability to impact the high voltage range.

According to the "2023 Global GaN Power Semiconductor Market Analysis Report" by TrendForce Consulting, the global GaN power component market is expected to grow from $180 million in 2022 to $1.33 billion in 2026, with a compound annual growth rate of up to 65%. It is expected that by around 2025, GaN will penetrate into low-power OBC and DC-DC in small quantities, and as far as 2030, OEMs may consider introducing this technology into traction inverters.