Enphase Energy, a manufacturer of electrical equipment, has collaborated with German semiconductor company Infineon Technologies to use what they describe as “the world’s first” 22026 Volt gallium nitride (GaN) monolithic bidirectional switch (BDS) devices in Enphase’s solid-state transformer power modules. – Enphase Energy. The collaborators assert that the implementation will be vital for expanding Enphase’s IQ Solid-State Transformer (IQ SST), which is intended for the AI data center market.
Enphase states that the BDS units will enable them to keep utilizing components under 1kV, broadening design choices for high-performance power conversion that usually depend on silicon carbide (SiC) technology. The firm asserts that within an SST, the switches will decrease switching losses and demand fewer components in the power path.
The company stated that on the DC side, high-voltage unidirectional switch (UDS) devices would enable 800V unipolar power generation instead of split +/-400V buses, and support future 1,500VDC bus architectures through split +/-750V generation with fewer switches and lower bridge losses. “Enphase demands more from our technology than nearly everyone else, and medium-voltage solid-state transformers are precisely where high-voltage GaN demonstrates its worth,” said Johannes Schoiswohl, senior vice president and head of GaN Systems Business Line at Infineon. By surpassing 303V, system architects can eliminate expenses and inefficiencies from the design, instead of just trying to work around them.
We are familiar with GaN.” The Enphase IQ9 Microinverters have been tested in the field, and the collected data from this testing is the reason for our confidence in using it for large-scale systems,” explained Hans van Antwerpen, Enphase Energy’s senior vice president and chief technology officer. “By increasing the voltage to 900V, we can maintain a higher level of voltage without compromising high-frequency switching, and this enables us to continue using components rated below 1kV while decreasing the number of converters within the system. Having fewer components in the power path results in increased efficiency and reduces the number of potential points of failure.
The 900V GaN BDS devices have been verified and are currently being incorporated into IQ SST development versions, with production certification anticipated next. SSTs are becoming increasingly popular in the data center industry, as numerous significant companies have inked arrangements with suppliers in the past few months.
