Reducing the pointless losses in electrical energy conversion has been, and continues to be, a long-term goal for many companies producing energy conversion subsystems such as power supplies, photovoltaic inverters and electrical motor drives. These subsystems are used extensively in industrial, commercial and residential applications: robotics, elevators, washers, air conditioners, etc.
Now a step function reduction in losses is possible due to multiple inventions of Israeli startup company VisIC Technologies, a technology-leading developer of Gallium Nitride (GaN) power semiconductors. VisIC is announcing the world's lowest-resistance, fast GaN transistor in their power conversion switch. VisIC's 650V, 50A GaN transistor achieves 12mW RDS(ON). Used in power conversion switches, the fundamental building block for virtually all energy conversion subsystems, these transistors will be used in a large share of the over $12B power transistor market.
Based on a new design for GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMTs), VisIC's products accelerate the semiconductor industry's push to extend GaN-based technology from communications subsystems into power conversion subsystems. Meeting the highly demanding requirements of power switching with GaN has been the Holy Grail for power conversion research in the last decade.
VisIC's technology solves problems that have limited devices from simultaneously achieving this step function reduction in conduction and switching losses for high speed switching. VisIC's products exceed the performance of competing products using Silicon, Silicon Carbide or GaN from other providers.
