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Polar Semiconductor announced the finalization of a strategic agreement with Renesas Electronics Corporation to license their Gallium Nitride on Silicon D-Mode (GaN-on-Si) technology. As part of this agreement, Polar will fabricate High Voltage 650V Class GaN-on-Si devices for Renesas and other customers in its 200mm automotive quality high-volume manufacturing facility in Minnesota. This facility, recently expanded with state-of-the-art processing and automation equipment, is poised to meet growing demand for next-generation semiconductor solutions.
Polar and Renesas will work together to scale commercial production of GaN devices, expanding its use across critical industries, including automotive, data center, consumer, industrial, and aerospace & defense markets. The agreement ensures the U.S. has a reliable, domestic source for this cutting-edge semiconductor technology.
Market adoption of GaN technology will be accelerated through cost efficiency and innovative device architectures enabled by scaling to 200mm fabrication. By leveraging Polar’s manufacturing expertise and Renesas’ proven power semiconductor technology and commercial leadership, this strategic collaboration ensures customers a secure supply of cost-competitive, superior quality, and high-performance GaN device wafers.
Surya Iyer, President and COO of Polar Semiconductor, said, “This licensing and commercial production agreement underscores our commitment to strengthening the domestic semiconductor ecosystem. GaN is a game-changing technology for Power and RF, and with Renesas as our partner, we are well-positioned to ramp commercial production, secure key defense programs, and drive the next wave of semiconductor innovation.”
“We are excited to partner with Polar to scale our proven GaN technology to 200mm wafers and leverage our know-how across broad power conversion markets ranging from Infrastructure & AI to Energy & Industrial to e-Mobility & xEVs to high-value IoT,” said Chris Allexandre, SVP & GM, Power Products Group, at Renesas. “This collaboration ensures a strong, U.S.-based manufacturing capability for GaN products, provides multi-sourcing to our customers, and meets the growing demand for high-performance power solutions.”
Original – Polar Semiconductor
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Navitas Semiconductor has announced its high-power GaNSafe™ ICs achieve automotive qualification for both AEC-Q100 and AEC-Q101, showcasing GaN’s next inflection into the automotive market.
Navitas high-power GaNSafe 4th generation family integrates control, drive, sensing, and critical protection features that enable unprecedented reliability and robustness in high-power applications. It is the world’s safest GaN with short-circuit protection (350ns max latency), 2kV ESD protection on all pins, elimination of negative gate drive, and programmable slew rate control. All these features are controlled with 4-pins, allowing the package to be treated like a discrete GaN FET, requiring no VCC pin.
The Automotive Electronics Council (AEC) lists various qualifications focused on failure mechanism-based stress tests for packaged integrated circuits (AEC-Q100) and discrete semiconductors (AEC-Q101) used in automotive applications. Navitas’ GaNSafe™ has been qualified to both standards to ensure that both the discrete power FET stage and the combined IC solution meet these stringent specifications.
To support the qualification, Navitas has created a comprehensive reliability report that analyzes over 7 years of production and field data. It demonstrates their track record, alongside generational and family improvements in robustness and reliability, establishing GaN power ICs as highly reliable and automotive-ready. This reliability report is available to qualified customers.
Additionally in March 2025, Navitas unveiled the world’s first production released 650V Bi-Directional GaNFast ICs with IsoFast Drivers, creating a paradigm shift in power to enable the transition from two-stage to single-stage topologies to further enhance efficiency, power density, and performance in AC-DC and AC-AC conversion. This would allow next-generation single-stage OBCs to provide bi-directional charging in a high-efficiency, extremely compact solution – which eliminates bulky capacitors and input inductors.
A leading EV and solar micro-inverter manufacturer have already begun their implementation of single-stage BDS converters to improve efficiency, size, and cost in their systems. GaNFast-enabled single-stage BDS converters achieve up to 10% cost savings, 20% energy savings, and up to 50% size reductions.
“Our latest reliability report is the culmination of years of innovation and field experience,” said Gene Sheridan, CEO and co-founder of Navitas. “With more than 250 million units shipped, over 2 trillion field devices hours and a cumulative field failure rate that is now approaching 100 parts per billion, we’re leading the charge in making GaN the go-to technology for EV power systems.”
Original – Navitas Semiconductor
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Infineon Technologies AG has introduced the world’s first gallium nitride (GaN) power transistors with integrated Schottky diode for industrial use. The product family of medium-voltage CoolGaN™ Transistors G5 with integrated Schottky diode increases the performance of power systems by reducing undesired deadtime losses, thereby further increasing overall system efficiency. Additionally, the integrated solution simplifies the power stage design and reduces BOM cost.
In hard-switching applications, GaN-based topologies may incur higher power losses due to the larger effective body diode voltage (V SD) of GaN devices. This gets worse with long controller dead-times, resulting in lower efficiency than targeted. Until now, power design engineers often require an external Schottky diode in parallel with the GaN transistor or try to reduce dead-times via their controllers. All of which is extra effort, time and cost. The new CoolGaN Transistor G5 from Infineon significantly reduces these challenges by offering a GaN transistor with an integrated Schottky diode appropriate for use in server and telecom IBCs, DC-DC converters, synchronous rectifiers for USB-C battery chargers, high-power PSUs, and motor drives.
“As gallium nitride technology becomes increasingly widespread in power designs, Infineon recognizes the need for continuous improvement and enhancement to meet the evolving demands of customers”, says Antoine Jalabert, Vice President of Infineon’s Medium-Voltage GaN Product Line, “The CoolGaN Transistor G5 with Schottky diode exemplifies Infineon’s dedication to an accelerated innovation-to-customer approach to further push the boundaries of what is possible with wide-bandgap semiconductor materials.“
GaN transistor reverse conduction voltage (V RC) is dependent on the threshold voltage (V TH) and the OFF-state gate bias (V GS) due to the lack of body diode. Moreover, the V TH of a GaN transistor is typically higher than the turn-on voltage of a silicon diode leading to a disadvantage during the reverse conduction operation, also known as third quadrant. Hence, with this new CoolGaN Transistor, reverse conduction losses are lower, compatibility with a wider range of high-side gate drivers, and with deadtime relaxed, there is broader controller compatibility resulting in simpler design.
The first of several GaN transistors with integrated Schottky diode is the 100 V 1.5 mΩ transistor in 3 x 5 mm PQFN package.
Original – Infineon Technologies
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IQE plc, the leading global supplier of compound semiconductor wafer products and advanced material solutions, and X-FAB Silicon Foundries SE announced a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) to create a European-based GaN Power device platform solution.
With an initial two-year scope of work, IQE and X-FAB will collaborate to develop a 650V GaN device. The agreement will leverage IQE’s GaN epitaxy design and process expertise, along with X-FAB’s proven technology development and device fabrication capabilities to offer an optimized technology-substrate combination for automotive, data center and consumer applications.
This collaboration will provide fabless semiconductor companies with a leading-edge, off-the-shelf GaN platform accelerating their innovation cycles and time-to-market. The technology will also serve as a foundation for future product development, extending beyond 650V to address the growing market demand for Power Electronics.
Jutta Meier, Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of IQE, comments: “We are excited to join forces with X-FAB to develop a world-class GaN power foundry solution in Europe, providing outsourced optionality for our fabless customers. Building on our GaN epitaxy expertise and recent investment in additional GaN reactor capacity, this agreement aligns with our GaN diversification strategy, expands our customer reach, and accelerates time-to-market for GaN power applications.”
“By combining our long-standing expertise in GaN device fabrication and design enablement with IQE’s epitaxy leadership, we are creating a unique, turnkey GaN Power platform,” explains Jörg Doblaski, Chief Technology Officer at X-FAB. “In addition to our existing GaN technology, this collaboration provides a compelling alternative to existing supply chain models and strengthens Europe’s position in next-generation power semiconductor technology.”
Original – X-FAB Silicon Foundries
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Navitas Semiconductor has announced a new strategic partnership with GigaDevice, a world-leader in microcontrollers (MCUs) and flash memory, to create a joint-lab for integrating and tailoring Navitas’ GaNFast™ ICs & GigaDevice’s Microcontrollers, targeting AI data centers, EVs, Solar, and Energy Saving Systems.
As GaN & SiC power technologies transition power conversion to faster, lighter, and more compact solutions, such as single-stage BDS converters, MCUs need to be optimized to maximize these extremely fast switching characteristics, such as high processing speeds and fast I/O capabilities. A co-developed solution of Navitas’ power and GigaDevice’s control will further accelerate the adoption of GaN & SiC into higher-power markets.
The joint R&D laboratory will integrate both company’s technical product and system-level application expertise to drive innovative advancements in intelligent and efficient power management solutions. Integrating Navitas’ next-generation, clean-energy, GaNFast™ technology with GigaDevice’s advanced high-performance MCU products will enable a new level of integration, performance, and high-power-density digital-power solutions.
As a leader in China’s high-performance general-purpose MCU market, GigaDevice has been widely adopted across diverse sectors including power systems, industrial automation, automotive electronics, and motion control, with cumulative shipments exceeding 2 billion units. GigaDevice’s GD32 high-performance MCU series has been designed to use leading technology and core architecture, with higher processing power, greater storage capacity, and richer on-chip resources, to bring high-end innovative experiences to developers for industrial automation, photovoltaic energy storage, graphic displays, digital power supplies, motor control, and other diversified applications. Their expansive portfolio is complemented by comprehensive industry-specific vertical solutions, delivering exceptional products, tailored technical support, and system-level design services to customers.
Navitas is an industry leader in GaN power technology with a wide portfolio of GaNFast™ power ICs, which enable high-frequency, high-efficiency power conversion, achieving 3x more power and 3x faster charging in half the size and weight compared to prior designs with legacy silicon power devices.
Navitas technology leads across various growth markets including mobile, where they continue to supply 10 of the top 10 smartphone/notebook OEMs with Navitas GaN ICs, with the recent announcement of powering Dell’s™ Family of AI Notebooks. They are the established leader in AI data center solutions enabled by high-power GaNSafe™ and GeneSiC technology, with the world’s firsts in high-efficiency, high-power density designs, such as the 3.2 kW CRPS, achieving a 40% smaller size, world’s highest power density 4.5 kW CRPS, and the world’s first 8.5 kW AI data center power supply powered by GaN and SiC that can meet 98% efficiency, complying with the Open Compute Project (OCP) and Open Rack v3 (ORv3) specifications. For Electric Vehicles, Power Electronics News announced that Changan Automobile would launch the first commercial GaN-Based On-Board Charger (OBC) using Navitas GaN ICs.
The partnership follows Navitas’ strategy of creating an eco-system to support these next-gen, clean-energy solutions. Creating new high-speed isolated drivers, such as IsoFast, integrating ASICs with GaNSense™ ICs for lower power applications, alongside partnering with high-frequency planar magnetics for high-frequency transformers, inductors, and EMI filters, enables simple integrated ‘one-stop shop’ solutions to allow designers to innovate and accelerate these next-gen GaN/SiC-based power electronics.
On April 8th, 2025, Vincent Li, GigaDevice Senior Vice President, CTO, & General Manager of MCU Business Unit, and Charles Zha, VP and GM of Navitas Asia-Pacific, plus other senior executives attended the signing ceremony in Shanghai. Both parties shared their collaboration strategy and discussed operational models for the joint lab.
“Digital power stands as one of GigaDevice’s core strategic markets. MCUs play a pivotal role in advancing the intelligence of digital power systems, enhancing energy efficiency, and ensuring operational security.” said Vincent Li, GigaDevice Senior Vice President, CTO, and General Manager of MCU BU. “By working with Navitas, we will deeply integrate GigaDevice’s advanced MCU with Navitas’ leading GaNFast™ technology to develop competitive solutions for industrial automation and new energy vehicles. This collaboration not only technological synergy but also a critical step toward greener, more efficient industry development.”
“Navitas continues to innovate our GaNFast power IC technology to achieve our mission to ‘Electrify Our World™’”, said Charles Zha, SVP and GM of Navitas Asia-Pacific. “The joint lab with GigaDevice will amplify our complementary strengths in IC design, manufacturing, and ecosystem development and accelerate R&D for next-gen, high-efficiency power solutions, reinforcing our ‘Smart + Green’ strategic vision. We look forward to delivering faster, energy-saving innovations to global customers and pioneering a new era of collaboration in power electronics.”
Original – Navitas Semiconductor
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Navitas Semiconductor has announced its GaNSense power ICs will power GreatWall’s latest 2.5kW ultra-high power density DC-DC converter for AI data centers.
The rapid development of AI has imposed higher requirements for computing power on data centers. To accommodate more GPUs for computing, the architecture of 400V independent cabinets will become a new development trend. Module power supplies with small size, high efficiency, and greater independence will free up valuable cabinet space, directly enhance computing power, reduce energy consumption, and contribute to achieving dual-carbon goals.
Great Wall has developed an industry-leading 2.5kW DC-DC converter in 1/4 brick outline with the world’s highest power density of 92.36W/cm³, up to 8 times higher than the output power of traditional silicon designs. With a record half-load efficiency of 97.9% and a wide input range of 320-420 VDC, this solution achieves the increasingly stringent efficiency guidelines and regulations from Open Compute Project (OCP) and can be widely used in applications from AI data centers, telecommunications, and industrial equipment.
This ultra-high power density DC-DC converter is powered by Navitas’ GaNSense NV6169. The 650V, 45 mΩ, delivers 50% more power than prior designs, in an industry-standard, low-profile, low-inductance, 8 x 8 mm PQFN package for high-efficiency, high-density power systems. GaNFast power ICs with GaNSense technology feature GaN-industry-first features such as loss-less current sensing and the world’s fastest short-circuit protection, with a ‘detect-to-protect’ speed of only 30 ns, 6x faster than discrete solutions.
Unlike competing solutions, NV6169 is rated at 650V for nominal operation plus an 800 V peak-rating for robust operation during transient events. As a truly integrated power IC, the GaN gate is fully-protected and the whole device rated at an industry-leading electrostatic-discharge (ESD) specification of 2 kV.
“With its faster switching frequency and higher efficiency, GaN has become a key factor in unlocking the next generation of power supplies. We are very pleased to collaborate with Navitas, an industry leader in GaN technology, and successfully enable this industry-leading ultra-high-power density and ultra-high efficiency DC-DC converter,” said Michael Zhang, head of DC Product Line at Greatwall Power. “We look forward to deepening our collaboration with Navitas to unlock the application of GaN in more fields, continuously improve power supply efficiency to reduce energy consumption, and accelerate the low-carbon transformation of various industries.”
“Navitas is deeply honored to cooperate with Great Wall Power to successfully create this ultra-high-power density 2.5 kW DC-DC converter. The profound heritage and innovative strength of Great Wall Power in the power supply field have enabled our GaNFast power ICs to fully demonstrate their advantages,’ said Charles Zha, SVP and GM of Navitas Asia-Pacific. “Navitas firmly believes that continuous cooperation with Great Wall will make GaN technology shine in multiple fields such as AI data centers and telecommunications and promote the industry to develop towards a more efficient and environmentally friendly direction.”
Original – Navitas Semiconductor
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STMicroelectronics and Innoscience announced the signature of an agreement on GaN technology development and manufacturing, leveraging the strengths of each company to enhance GaN power solutions and supply chain resilience.
The companies have agreed on a joint development initiative on GaN power technology, to advance the promising future of GaN power for consumer electronics, datacenters, automotive and industrial power systems and many more applications in the coming years. In addition, the agreement allows Innoscience to utilize ST’s front-end manufacturing capacity outside China for its GaN wafers, while ST can leverage Innoscience’s front-end manufacturing capacity in China for its own GaN wafers. The common ambition is for each company to expand their individual offering in GaN with supply chain flexibility and resilience to cover all customers’ requirements in a wide range of applications.
Marco Cassis, President, Analog, Power & Discrete, MEMS and Sensors of STMicroelectronics declared: “ST and Innoscience are both Integrated Device Manufacturers, and with this agreement we will leverage this model to the benefit of our customers globally. First, ST will be accelerating its roadmap in GaN power technology to complement its silicon and silicon carbide offering. Second, ST will be able to leverage a flexible manufacturing model to serve customers globally.”
Dr. Weiwei Luo, Chairman and Founder of Innoscience, stated “GaN technology is essential to improve electronics, creating smaller and more efficient systems which save electric power, lower cost, and reduce CO2 Emissions. Innoscience pioneered mass production of 8-inch GaN technology and has shipped over 1 billion GaN devices into multiple markets, and we are very excited to move into strategic collaboration with ST. The joint collaboration between ST and Innoscience will further expand and accelerate the adoption of GaN technology. Together the teams at Innoscience and ST will develop the next generations of GaN technology”.
GaN power devices leverage fundamental material properties that enable new standards of system performance in power conversion, motion control, and actuation, offering significantly lower losses, which allows for enhanced efficiency, smaller size, and lighter weight, thus reducing the overall solution cost and carbon footprint; these devices are rapidly being adopted in consumer electronics, data center and industrial power supplies, and solar inverters, and are being actively designed into next-generation EV powertrains due to their substantial size and weight reduction benefits.
Original – STMicroelectronics
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GaN / LATEST NEWS / PRODUCT & TECHNOLOGY / TOP STORIES / WBGMazda and ROHM Collaborate to Develop Automotive Components Utilizing Next-Generation Semiconductors
March 28, 2025
3 Min ReadMazda Motor Corporation and ROHM Co., Ltd. have commenced joint development of automotive components using gallium nitride (GaN) power semiconductors, which are expected to be the next-generation semiconductors.
Since 2022, Mazda and ROHM have been advancing the joint development of inverters using silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductors under a collaborative framework for the development and production of electric drive units. Now, they have also embarked on the development of automotive components using GaN power semiconductors, aiming to create innovative automotive components for next-generation electric vehicles.
GaN is attracting attention as a next-generation material for power semiconductors. Compared to conventional silicon (Si) power semiconductors, GaN can reduce power conversion losses and contribute to the miniaturization of components through high-frequency operation.
Both companies will collaborate to transform these strengths into a package that considers the entire vehicle, and into solutions that innovate in weight reduction and design. Mazda and ROHM aim to materialize the concept and unveil a demonstration model within FY2025, with practical implementation targeted for FY2027.
“As the shift towards electrification accelerates in pursuit of carbon neutrality, we are delighted to collaborate with ROHM, which aims to create a sustainable mobility society with its outstanding semiconductor technology and advanced system solution capabilities, in the development and production of automotive components for electric vehicles” said Ichiro Hirose, Director, Senior Managing Executive Officer and CTO of Mazda. “We are excited to work together to create a new value chain that directly connects semiconductor devices and cars. Through collaboration with partners who share our vision, Mazda will continue to deliver products filled with the ‘joy of driving’ that allows customers to truly enjoy driving, even in electric vehicles.”
“We are very pleased to collaborate with Mazda, which pursues the ‘joy of driving,’ in the development of automotive components for electric vehicles” said Katsumi Azuma, Member of the board and Senior Managing Executive Officer of ROHM. “ROHM’s EcoGaN™, capable of high-frequency operation, and the control IC that maximizes its performance are key to miniaturization and energy-saving. To implement this in society, collaboration with a wide range of companies is essential, and we have established various partnerships for the development and mass production of GaN. By collaborating with Mazda, which aims to create ‘cars that coexist sustainably with the earth and society,’ we will understand the requirements for GaN from the perspective of application and final product development, contributing to the spread of GaN power semiconductors and the creation of a sustainable mobility society.”
Original – ROHM
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GaN / LATEST NEWS / PRODUCT & TECHNOLOGY / WBGNexperia Expands GaN FET Portfolio to Cover Wider Power Ranges in Low- and High-Voltage Applications
2 Min ReadNexperia announced the addition of 12 new devices to its continuously expanding e-mode GaN FET portfolio. This latest release is intended to address the growing demand for higher efficiency and more compact systems. The new low and high-voltage e-mode GaN FETs address multiple markets including consumer, industrial, server/computing and telecommunications, with a particular focus on supporting high-voltage, low to mid-power and low-voltage, low to high-power use cases.
Since introducing e-mode GaN FETs in 2023, Nexperia remains the only supplier in the industry to offer both cascode or d-mode and e-mode devices, providing designers with convenience when faced with variable challenges during the design process.
The latest additions to Nexperia’s e-mode GaN FET portfolio include new low voltage 40 V bi-directional devices (RDSon<12 mΩ) to support overvoltage protection (OVP), load switching, and low-voltage applications including battery management systems (BMS) in mobile devices, and laptop computers.
Also featuring in this release are 100 V and 150 V devices (RDSon<7 mΩ) suitable for synchronous rectification (SR) power supplies in consumer devices, DC-DC converters in datacomms and telecoms equipment, photovoltaic micro-inverters, Class-D audio amplifiers and motor control systems in e-bikes, forklifts and light electric vehicles (LEVs). The new higher voltage range features 700 V devices (RDSon>140 mΩ) to support LED drivers and power factor correction (PFC) applications, and 650 V devices (RDSon>350 mΩ) suitable for use in AC/DC converters.
The superior switching performance of Nexperia’s e-mode GaN FET technology is due to their exceptionally low QG and QOSS values. These new devices offer industry-leading figures of merit (FOM), making them a top choice for high-efficiency power solutions.
Original – Nexperia
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Efficient Power Conversion introduced the EPC2367, a next-generation 100 V eGaN® FET that delivers superior performance, higher efficiency, and lower system costs for power conversion applications.
Designed for 48 V intermediate voltage bus architectures, the EPC2367 significantly advances the performance of power systems by reducing power loss, increasing efficiency, and enabling more compact and cost-effective designs. This new device sets a benchmark in performance compared to both previous-generation GaN and traditional silicon MOSFET solutions.
Key Advantages of the EPC2367
- Ultra-Low On-Resistance (RDS(on)): 1.2 mΩ, a ~ 30% improvement over previous generation best-in-class devices
- Smaller Footprint: 3.3 mm × 3.3 mm QFN package, reducing PCB space and enhancing thermal performance
- Best-in-Class Switching Figures of Merit (FoM): EPC2367 outperforms competitors in hard and soft-switching applications, delivering superior efficiency and lower power losses
- Enhanced Thermal Performance: Operates cooler under load, improving system reliability and enabling higher power densities
- Outstanding Temperature Cycling Reliability: 4× the thermal cycling capability compared to previous GaN generations, ensuring robust long-term operation
Superior In-Circuit Performance
The EPC2367 has been rigorously tested in hard and soft-switching applications. Performance results demonstrate higher efficiency across the full power range, with significant power loss reductions. In a 1 MHz, 1.25 kW system, EPC2367 reduces power losses while achieving 1.25× the output power compared to previous GaN and Si MOSFET alternatives.
The EPC2367 advances GaN technology with ultra-low on-resistance and superior thermal cycling, enabling engineers to boost efficiency and power density in AI servers, robotics, and automotive systems,
said Alex Lidow, EPC CEO and co-founder.The EPC90164 development board is a half bridge featuring the EPC2367 GaN FET. It is designed for 80 V maximum operating voltage and 35 A maximum output current. The purpose of this board is to simplify the evaluation process of power systems designers to speed their product’s time to market. This 2” x 2” (50.8 mm x 50.8 mm) board is designed for optimal switching performance and contains all critical components for easy evaluation.
Original – Efficient Power Conversion
