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Revolutionizing Electric Vehicle Power with GaN Technology

BIDT

Business Insight Digest Team

Business Insight Digest Team provides cutting-edge analysis and insights in technology and innovation.

Revolutionizing Electric Vehicle Power with GaN Technology

VisIC is preparing to scale production of GaN depletion-mode HEMTs for EV inverters by decade's end.

EV designers face a challenging choice in power electronics: cost-effective silicon IGBTs versus efficient but expensive SiC MOSFETs, which provide better driving range. This trade-off creates market demand for a solution combining SiC MOSFET performance with IGBT pricing.

"We can really push the boundaries and technology with AVL," says Dieter Liesabeths, Senior Vice President of Product at VisIC. "They also have the capability to go to a very high RPM with their motors, up to 30,000 RPM, which is really benefiting the GaN technology."

Key Performance Metrics

  • • Inverter efficiency: 99.67% at 10 kHz
  • • Peak efficiency: 99.8% at 5 kHz
  • • Energy loss reduction: Over 60%
  • • Test voltage: 400V (common in city cars and Tesla vehicles)

Despite industry interest in 800V systems, Liesabeths maintains 400V's relevance: "The majority of cars that will come out in the future will be 400 volts, because these are typical city-cycle cars, which are having smaller batteries." At urban speeds around 25 km hr-1, VisIC's HEMTs maintain 99.2% efficiency, outperforming SiC inverters at higher loads.

GaN HEMTs offer significant cost advantages, priced at half of SiC MOSFETs and potentially reaching silicon IGBT cost levels with 300mm wafer production. As Liesabeths notes, "If you can replace silicon carbide, which is around 55 to 60 percent of the cost of the inverter, with gallium nitride, you're cutting your cost almost by half."

Additionally, GaN production has a lower carbon footprint compared to high-temperature SiC manufacturing.

Depletion-mode devices

VisIC's patented D-mode HEMT technology pairs GaN transistors with silicon MOSFETs, enabling direct driving and better slew rate control while offering superior cost-per-amp ratios through smaller device sizes.

While GaN HEMT production initially faced constraints with 200mm foundries during the pandemic, capacity has since expanded. VisIC, originally partnering with TSMC, is now exploring relationships with specialized epiwafer providers. "Working with dedicated epi-partners means that we have better control, and more influence about the design itself," explains Liesabeths.

The company's HEMT-based power modules are currently undergoing automotive qualification under AEC-Q101 and AQG-324 standards. "We are confident that we are passing this qualification and even exceeding some of the requirements," says Liesabeths.

Future Developments

  • • Developing high-power inverters in the 300 kW range
  • • Demonstrating 100-120 kW variants for city cars
  • • Mass production of GaN HEMTs for EVs by 2028-29
  • • Development of 800V devices within two years

"We are confident that by this time frame, we will see the first cars on the road," says Liesabeths, while working with OEMs and tier ones.

The company's patented multi-channel devices can handle up to 3.3 kV, preparing for higher voltages, with 800V devices planned within two years.