Bel Power launches first AC-DC power supply using Transphorm GaN FETs

Transphorm Inc of Goleta, near Santa Barbara, CA, USA – which designs and manufactures JEDEC-qualified 650V gallium nitride (GaN) field-effect transistors (FETs) for high-voltage power conversion applications – says that the recently announced high-efficiency AC-to-DC front-end TET3000-12-069RA power supply developed by power management device maker Bel Power Solutions (a Bel group company) uses its TPH3205WSB 49mΩ GaN FETs in a bridgeless totem-pole power factor correction (PFC) topology to achieve greater than 96% efficiency.

The TET3000 is a 3kW power supply designed for enterprise reliability server, router and network switching subsystems. Bel Power designed the supply using GaN to serve three critical needs: power density, size and performance reliability. The TET3000’s volume power density is 31.7W/in3. The device size is 2.72” x 1.59” x 21.85”, small enough to meet 1U end-system design requirements. Lastly, the TET3000 is certified for 80 Plus Titanium efficiency and has earned a CE Mark per the European Commission’s Low Voltage Directive (an initiative ensuring European citizen protection from electrical equipment).

GaN designs implementing the bridgeless totem-pole PFC topology are said to achieve a number of system benefits compared with a standard interleaved boost converter:

• Smaller size/higher power density: Lower component count and EMI filter size, delivering the same power in a smaller footprint.
• Higher efficiency: Faster switching speeds lower crossover losses and increase system efficiency, while removing the bridge rectifier decreases losses by 20-30%.
• Lower cost: GaN enables increased performance and higher power density using twice the on-resistance as silicon to help reduce system cost.

“After considerable R&D weighing various semiconductor materials and power system designs, Transphorm’s GaN within a totem-pole PFC configuration proved the most reliable, highest-performing solution possible today,” comments Bel Power’s chief technology officer Alain Chapuis. “In turn, our customers gain access to a next-generation power supply that stands to outperform incumbent solutions while delivering a greater ROI.”

Bel Power’s new power supply is being displayed at the 2017 Power Conversion and Intelligent Motion (PCIM) Europe expo in Nuremberg, Germany (16-18 May) as part of Transphorm’s co-located showcase in the HY-LINE Power Components booth (Hall 9, booth 525).