Renesas Electronics Completes Acquisition of GaN Device Provider Transphorm for $339 Million
Renesas Electronics has completed its acquisition of gallium nitride (GaN) device maker Tranphorm for $339 million. With the completion of the transaction, Renesas Electronics also launched 15 GaN-based reference designs. Renesas Electronics' acquisition of Transphorm intensifies its competition with Infineon in the field of GaN devices, which acquired GaN Systems last year.
The 15 reference designs launched by Renesas Electronics cover the embedded processing, power, connectivity and analog product portfolio. Among them is Transphorm's automotive-grade GaN technology design, which integrates three-in-one power system solutions for on-board battery chargers and electric vehicles.
“Customers can immediately benefit from new GaN products with turnkey reference designs that integrate technologies from both companies,” said Chris Allexandre, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Power at Renesas. “Adding GaN to our portfolio reinforces our commitment to developing products and technologies that make people’s lives easier. Providing powerful and sustainable power solutions that save energy, reduce costs, and minimize environmental impact is the way to achieve this.”
Other recent steps taken by Renesas to strengthen this market segment include the opening of the Kofu Plant, a 300mm wafer fab dedicated to power products; the addition of a new silicon carbide (SiC) production line at the Takasaki Plant; and an agreement with Wolfspeed to secure a stable supply of SiC wafers for the next 10 years.
Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Goleta, California, as a subsidiary of the University of California, Santa Barbara, Transphorm is a leading innovator in GaN semiconductors that designs, manufactures, and markets high-performance, high-reliability GaN power products for a wide range of high-voltage power conversion applications. The reference design launched this time includes a 500W two-wheel electric vehicle on-board battery charger, a three-in-one electric vehicle device: inverter, on-board charger, DC/DC converter, 240W 48V extended power range AC/DC adapter, and a 3.6KW bidirectional digital power supply DAB system.
Wide bandgap (WBG) materials such as GaN and SiC have higher power efficiency, higher switching frequency and smaller footprint than traditional silicon-based devices, and are therefore regarded as key technologies for the next generation of power semiconductors. Driven by the demand for electric vehicles, inverters, data center servers, artificial intelligence (AI), renewable energy, industrial power conversion, consumer applications, etc., GaN and SiC products are expected to grow rapidly in the next decade.
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