ROHM's First Isolated Gate Driver IC for Driving High Withstand Voltage GaN Devices Begins Mass Production

Semiconductor manufacturer ROHM (headquartered in Kyoto, Japan) today announced the release of the BM6GD11BFJ-LB, an isolated gate driver IC for 600V-class, high-withstand-off voltage GaN HEMT drives. Used in combination with this product, it enables more stable driving of GaN devices during high-frequency, high-speed switching, helping to further reduce size and improve efficiency in high-current applications such as motor and server power supplies.

The new products are ROHM's first isolated gate driver ICs for high-voltage-tolerant GaN HEMTs, which ensure safe signal transmission by isolating the device from the control circuit during switching operations in which the voltage rises and falls repeatedly and sharply.

By adopting ROHM's proprietary on-chip isolation technology, the new product effectively reduces parasitic capacitance and enables high-frequency driving up to 2MHz. By taking full advantage of the high-speed switching characteristics of GaN devices, they not only help applications to become more energy-efficient and achieve higher performance, but also reduce the mounting area by contributing to the miniaturisation of peripheral components.

In addition, the isolated gate driver IC has a common mode transient immunity (CMTI)*1 of 150 V/ns (nanoseconds), which is 1.5 times that of conventional products, and prevents malfunctions caused by the troublingly high slew rate of GaN HEMT switching, thus contributing to system stability and control. control. The minimum pulse width has been reduced by 33% compared to previous products, and the on-time has been shortened to only 65 ns, ensuring a minimum duty cycle despite higher frequencies, thus keeping losses to a lower level.

With gate drive voltages ranging from 4.5V to 6.0V and insulation withstand voltages of 2,500Vrms, the new products fully realise the performance potential of a wide range of high-withstandard-voltage GaN devices, including the 650V withstand-voltage GaN HEMT ‘GNP2070TD-Z’, which is a new addition to ROHM's EcoGaN™ product line-up. ‘) have performance potential. The current consumption at the output is only 0.5mA (maximum), achieving the industry's ultra-low power consumption level, in addition to effectively reducing standby power consumption.

Mass production of the new product has begun in March 2025 (sample price: 600 yen per unit, excluding tax). The new product is also available for purchase online through e-commerce platforms.

Development background

Against the backdrop of rising global energy consumption, energy conservation measures have become a common issue for countries around the world. In particular, it has been found that ‘motors’ and ‘power supplies’ consume about 97 per cent of the world's total electricity. The key to improving the efficiency of motors and power supplies lies in next-generation power devices for power control and conversion made from new materials such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN).

Taking full advantage of the technologies accumulated in the development of silicon semiconductors and SiC isolated gate driver ICs, ROHM has successfully developed the first wave of isolated gate driver ICs optimised for driving GaN devices, and in the future, ROHM will provide gate driver ICs for driving GaN devices in conjunction with GaN devices. GaN devices to facilitate the design of applications.

Application Examples

Industrial equipment: power supply for photovoltaic inverters, ESS (energy storage systems), communication base stations, servers, industrial motors, etc.

Consumer electronics: white goods, AC adapters (USB chargers), computers, TVs, refrigerators, air conditioners.

Glossary of terms

Common Mode Transient Immunity (CMTI)

One of the main parameters of isolated gate drivers refers to the product's ability to withstand sharp voltage changes that occur within a short period of time. Especially when driving devices with high conversion rates such as GaN HEMTs, which are prone to sharp voltage changes, device damage can be effectively prevented and the risk of short-circuiting the circuit can be reduced by using a gate driver with excellent CMTI performance.