New 45W and 150W MasterGaN Devices for High-Efficiency Power Conversion

25 August 2021 - 0 Comments

STMicroelectronics has introduced new 45W and 150W MasterGaN integrated half-bridge drivers for high-efficiency power conversion. The new MasterGaN3 and MasterGaN5 integrated power packages are optimized for high-voltage applications with a 2mm creepage distance between high-voltage and low-voltage pads. These devices are best suited for designing switched-mode power supplies, chargers, adapters, high-voltage Power-Factor Correction (PFC), and DC/DC converters. Moreover, both devices have inputs compatible with logic signals from 3.3V to 15V, which simplifies the connection of a host DSP, FPGA, or microcontroller, and external devices such as Hall sensors.

The MasterGaN3 and MasterGaN5 devices integrate two 650V power transistors with optimized high-voltage gate drivers and associated safety and protection circuitry, eliminating gate-driver and circuit-layout design challenges. These integrated devices enable power supplies that are up to 80% smaller than silicon-based designs as well as extremely robust and reliable. They also integrate protection including low-side and high-side undervoltage lockout (UVLO), gate-driver interlocks, over-temperature protection, and a shutdown pin.

Each MasterGaN device is supported with a dedicated prototype board to help designers jump-start new power-supply projects. The EVALMASTERGAN3 and EVALMASTERGAN5 boards contain circuitry to generate single-ended or complementary driving signals. There is an adjustable dead-time generator, as well as connections for the user to apply a separate input signal or PWM signal, add an external bootstrap diode to help with capacitive loads, and insert a low-side shunt resistor for peak-current-mode topologies.