GaNonCMOS results – Business
GaNonCMOS results brief 5
In this 5th instalment of our results brief, we present the value proposition of the GaNOnCMOS technology for data centres and the automotive industry and provide some highlights about the ongoing exploitation of the technical results by different project partners.
Business
GaNonCMOS value propositions
Based on the technical research and extensive market research during the project, two main value propositions for data centres and the automotive industry were identified.
For data centres, the value proposition builds on increasing the power density of current data servers, mostly through reducing the height and area of the magnetics. Flatter server boards will allow to install more units into one rack and simplify the heatsink design, using GaNonCMOS-developed technologies such as embedded magnetics, discrete GaN switches and GaN on silicon chip design. The solution will be suitable for 12V and 48V bus systems.
For the automotive industry, the value proposition of the GaNonCMOS technologies is the strongest for short-term Mild Hybrid Electrical Vehicles (MHEV) 48-12V power system and mid-term MHEV 48V power system, as well as for the Plug in Electric Vehicles (PEV). The value propositions for the short-term and mid-term MHEV applications are respectively, around 6 and 27Kg reduction in the car weight, 500 and 1600€ cost reduction in components, 350 and 650L saving in petrol over the lifetime of the car representing 1200 and 2200 KgCO2-eq/vehicle. As for the PEV, a similar weight reduction of about 27Kg is expected, which will increase the driving range for the same battery by about 30Km, while reducing the cost of components by about 250€, and at the same time reducing the electricity consumption during the lifetime of the car by about 1600 kWh (eq. to 300€), corresponding to a reduction in GHG emission of about 650kgCO2-eq. Although the weight reduction is not huge compared to the total weight of the car, GaNonCMOS technologies could allow certain cars to fit into a certain weight categories and associated emissions, which would be a selling argument for the automotive industry. Additionally the gain on cost and weight using GaNonCMOS could be converted in more powerful battery for PEV which will result in a significantly higher driving range.
GaNonCMOS exploitation success
In addition to the proposed value propositions for the exploitation of the GaNonCMOS technology as a whole, the project results already led to concrete business developments for the project partners. For example, a leading semiconductor chip manufacturer wants to develop a new generation of high frequency inductors to improve power delivery networks jointly with AT&S. Moreover, in cooperation with a hearing aid company, a joint development project for using the embedding technology for charging implants was started at AT&S. And, a leading manufacturer of electronic components has together with AT&S initiated a project to realize a power supply with an embedded transformer. At Tyndall, the thin-film MoS technology has been successfully licensed for use in silicon foundry back-end-of-line (BEOL). It is expected that the GaNonCMOS results will allow Tyndall in cooperation with AT&S to extend released-from-wafer MoS thin film materials to mass-market embedded-in-PCB applications. A technical and commercial feasibility study is currently underway with a major European IC company to validate this proposition.
Our complete results brief is also available for download here.