GaN power ICs drive Efficiency and Size Improvements in BLDC Motor Drive Applications

Inhalt:
BLDC motor inverters with IGBTs for single-phase grid have seen little progress in the last decade. GaN FETs with precise gate drive as used in Navitas GaN power ICs can improve performance, system and operating cost. Very low power losses enable much simpler thermal engineering, and high switching frequency enables further efficiency improvements. In this paper a 400W inverter designed for motor integration, operating off 230V AC grid power, is presented along with full documentation of the design and measurement results, highlighting the quantified improvements in component count, assembly and cooling cost, alongside several performance parameters, and cost of operation.