Faster switching and easier miniaturization than silicon devices are possible.

Mouser Electronics announced that it has started selling Panasonic's gallium nitride (GaN) solution.

To meet the efficiency and power density required by modern power supply designs, many design engineers are seeking alternatives to conventional MOS technology, such as GaN technology, that help reduce system size and save energy in various industrial and consumer power-switching systems.

Panasonic's GaN solutions consist of power transistors, gate drivers, and evaluation boards that engineers can use to reduce energy loss in various power applications such as power supplies, solar inverters, motor drives, and electric vehicles.

The Panasonic GaN solution to be sold by Mouser is a gallium nitride compound silicon substrate that implements compounds with high breakdown point voltage and low conductivity resistance on a silicon substrate, enabling faster switching and easier miniaturization than conventional silicon devices.

The PGA26E19BA GaN surface mount (SMD) power transistor is an enhanced mode product that cuts off the power switch at a cutoff voltage of 600V. Panasonic’s PGA26C09DV GaN power transistor, which will soon be available for order at Mouser, is also a device that provides a 600V cutoff voltage and prevents current disruption while being released in a small TO-220 package.

Both devices boast zero recovery loss and achieve low on-state resistance using Panasonic's proprietary gate injection transistor technology. This technology also prevents current disruption that increases on-resistance in high-voltage applications and ensures the safe operation of gallium nitride devices at high voltages.

Meanwhile, Mouser is also selling Panasonic’s high-speed gate driver AN34092B, which is specialized for surface mounting using minimal external components or driving T0-220 GaN transistors.

This single-channel high-speed gate driver integrates a constant current source and a negative voltage network, and also provides a power current source (from 2.5mA to 25mA) adjustable by an external resistor. The AN34092B gate driver provides undervoltage locking and overheating shutdown protection, as well as monitoring circuits for VR pin voltage and negative voltage.

The PGA26E19BA SMD transistor and AN34092B gate driver are supported by the PGA26E19BA-SWEVB006 chopper evaluation board available from Mouser. The PGA26E19BA-SWEVB006 evaluation board provides a platform for engineers to evaluate the switching properties of the PGA26E19BA transistor with enhanced performance through the onboard AN34092B gate driver.

Engineers can test the switching characteristics of the PGA26C09DV TO-220 transistor in both turn-on and turn-down states using the PGA26C09DV-SWEVB001 evaluation board.