GaN Power Transistors Improve Efficiency in Notebook Adapters

Power adapters for laptops increasingly rely on advanced power semiconductors to reduce size while maintaining high output power and efficiency. In this context, Infineon Technologies AG announced that Chicony Power has adopted its CoolGaN™ Transistors G5 in multiple high-power notebook adapter designs.

GaN devices support higher power density in laptop charging
Laptop power adapters typically convert AC input power to regulated DC output through several conversion stages, including power factor correction (PFC) and DC/DC conversion. These stages rely on switching semiconductors that directly influence efficiency, switching frequency, and thermal performance.

Chicony Power has integrated Infineon’s CoolGaN™ Transistors G5 into adapter platforms designed for notebooks from a major OEM customer. Gallium nitride (GaN) devices are increasingly used in power electronics because they can switch at higher frequencies than conventional silicon MOSFETs while maintaining lower switching and conduction losses.

This switching capability allows designers to reduce the size of passive components such as transformers and inductors, contributing to more compact adapters. The resulting systems can deliver high output power while maintaining smaller mechanical footprints suitable for portable computing devices.

Hybrid-drain GaN architecture designed for switching performance
The CoolGaN™ G5 devices are based on Infineon’s high-voltage GaN technology using a hybrid-drain GIT (Gate Injection Transistor) architecture. This design is intended to support robust gate operation while maintaining stable switching behavior in high-frequency power conversion environments.

Key electrical characteristics include improved dynamic RDS(on) behavior during switching transitions and higher saturation current capability. These characteristics help maintain efficiency and stable operation during rapid switching cycles in power converter stages.

Compared with the previous generation of Infineon GaN devices, the G5 family delivers up to 30 percent improvement in standard figures of merit, including the RDS(on) × Qg parameter commonly used to evaluate switching efficiency in power transistors.

Adapter architecture optimized for high-frequency operation
In the adapter designs developed by Chicony Power, the GaN devices support a high-frequency power architecture that combines optimized PFC and DC/DC conversion stages. Faster switching speeds enable designers to increase operating frequencies, which contributes to higher power density and smaller converter components.

The design also incorporates EMI-aware engineering, where switching profiles, PCB layout, and filtering structures are optimized to reduce electromagnetic noise while maintaining compliance margins for regulatory standards.

Thermal design plays a central role in compact power supplies. The adapter architecture is engineered to support stable operation at output power levels between 100 W and 300 W while maintaining manageable operating temperatures within compact enclosures.

Such power ranges are typical for modern notebook computers that support high-performance processors and rapid charging.

Expanding GaN manufacturing capacity
Infineon has expanded its gallium nitride product portfolio with more than 40 GaN product announcements within the past year. The company is also implementing 300-millimeter wafer manufacturing for GaN devices.

Production on 300-mm wafers allows higher semiconductor output per wafer compared with smaller substrates, which can increase manufacturing capacity and support larger-scale deployment of GaN-based power electronics in consumer and industrial systems. Initial samples from this manufacturing process have already been shipped to customers.

The use of GaN semiconductors in laptop adapters reflects a broader shift in power electronics toward wide-bandgap materials that support higher efficiency and compact power conversion across computing and consumer electronics applications.

www.infineon.com