Bi-directional GaN DC/DC Converter for 12V/48V EV/HEV Systems

As electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) gain popularity, there's a growing demand for efficient energy management and dual-voltage systems to transfer energy between 12V and 48V power nets. This design is ideal for 48V mild hybrid electric vehicles (MHEV) and electric motorcycles, featuring highly efficient 12V/48V DC/DC converters. It reduces PCB area by 46% using Gallium Nitride (GaN) High-Electron-Mobility Transistors (HEMTs) with excellent switching characteristics, enabling high efficiency power conversion at a 500kHz switching frequency with small 1.3µH inductors.

System Benefits​:

• Bi-directional analog controller eliminates the need for DSP with complicated firmware, separate buck/boost controllers, and complex switching logic, reducing development time, BOM, and costs.
• Supports ASIL B automotive safety standard under ISO26262 with Renesas MCU and regulator.
• Automatic phase drop function achieves over 94% power efficiency across a wide load range (400W to 3kW).
• Adaptive dead time function automatically adjusts for optimal control.
• MCU supports mode setting and status monitoring of DC/DC converters via CAN FD.