Infineon Announces CoolGaN™ Bidirectional Switch and CoolGaN Smart Sense

June 05, 2024

News

Munich, Germany – Infineon Technologies AG announced two new CoolGaN™ product technologies, CoolGaN bidirectional switch (BDS) and CoolGaN Smart Sense. 

CoolGaN BDS provides soft- and hard-switching behavior, with bidirectional switches available at 40 V, 650 V, and 850 V, and are ideal for mobile device USB ports, battery management systems, inverters, and rectifiers. The CoolGaN Smart Sense products feature lossless current sensing, simplifying design and further reducing power losses, and transistor switch functions integrated into one package. They are ideal for usage in consumer USB-C chargers and adapters.

The CoolGaN BDS high voltage will be available at 650 V and 850 V and feature a true normally-off monolithic bi-directional switch with four modes of operation. Based on the gate injection transistor (GIT) technology, the devices have two separate gates with substrate terminal and independent isolated control. They utilize the same drift region to block voltages in both directions under repetitive short-circuit conditions.

Applications can benefit by using one BDS instead of four conventional transistors. The devices optimize performance in the replacement of back-to-back switches in single-phase H4 PFC and HERIC inverters and three-phase Vienna rectifiers. Additional implementations include single-stage AC power conversion in AC/DC or DC/AC topologies.

Per the company, the CoolGaN BDS 40 V is a normally-off, monolithic bi-directional switch based on Infineon’s in-house Schottky Gate GaN technology. It can block voltages in both directions and through a single-gate and common-source design, it is optimized to replace back-to-back MOSFETs used as disconnect switches in battery-powered consumer products. The first 40 V CoolGaN BDS product has a 6 mΩ R DS(on), with a range of products to follow. Benefits of using 40 V GaN BDS vs. back-to-back Si FETs include 50 – 75 percent PCB area savings and a reduction of power losses by more than 50 percent, all at a lower cost.

The CoolGaN Smart Sense products feature 2 kV electrostatic discharge withstand and can connect to controller current sense for peak current control and overcurrent protection. The current sense response time is ~200 ns, equal to or less than the common controller blanking time for ultimate compatibility.

At a higher R DSs(on) of e.g. 350 mΩ, the CoolGaN Smart Sense products offer similar efficiency and thermal performance at lower cost compared to traditional 150mΩ GaN transistors. Moreover, the devices are footprint compatible with Infineon’s transistor-only CoolGaN package, eliminating the need for layout rework and PCB respin, and further facilitating design with Infineon’s GaN devices.

Engineering samples of the CoolGaN BDS 40 V are available now for 6 mΩ and will follow in Q3 2024 for 4 mΩ and 9 mΩ. Samples of the CoolGaN BDS 650 V will be available in Q4 2024, and 850 V will follow in early 2025. CoolGaN Smart Sense samples will be available in August 2024.

For more information, visit: www.infineon.com/cms/en/about-infineon/press/market-news/2024/INFPSS202406-111.html