Comment by tim333
5 years ago
And now power supplies are getting another step smaller and more efficient by switching from silicon transistors to GaN. (https://www.cui.com/blog/how-gallium-nitride-gan-enables-sma...)
5 years ago
And now power supplies are getting another step smaller and more efficient by switching from silicon transistors to GaN. (https://www.cui.com/blog/how-gallium-nitride-gan-enables-sma...)
I've been using a GaN-based power supply for my MacBook Pro and it's just as good as advertised. Slightly bigger than a deck of cards, yet it runs cooler than the stock unit.
Hopefully this tech finds its way into more devices as it gets cheaper. It would be neat to have GaN based inverters for electric cars.
They work great to charge my Android. One day MacBook chargers may even charge iPhones!
iPhones ship with a USB-C to Lightning cable.
Plug that into the MacBook charger and you’re good. No problem here, is it not working for you?
I use a MacBook charger with my iPhone every night...
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Tesla use silicon carbide which has favorable temp and reliability over Gan for higher voltage operation.
For highest end stuff you use both. They have different properties. SiC matters for reverse recovery of the inverter.
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I thought this was a new "ML powered" charger of some type until I googled... interesting find.
Those are NaN chargers.
May I ask which model you use?
Sure! I was trying to avoid mentioning it to avoid seeming like an advertisement. (I have the HyperJuice 100W USB-C adapter)
Any advice on buying these? A lot of the GaN bricks look impressive, but they're always made by a sketchy peripheral maker.
* Make sure they are UL listed for safety, as Animats pointed out in an earlier discussion. [1] Some aren't, even from well-known brands like Anker.
* If they are multi-port, make sure you're happy with how they distribute power. Most likely you want the majority of the power going to port 1 where you stick a laptop, but some drop it down to 50W or lower if you just have a cable in one of the other spots, much less any device connected.
I love the monoprice ones. They're small, inexpensive, inconspicuous, and meet the standards I described above. They also charge all my devices reliably, unlike my (larger, I think non-GaN) Nekteck chargers that spend their time in a drawer now. Buy a 5A cable to get the full 100W out of them at 20V.
[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21679302
Even-though the Anker brick I have does not have an Underwriters Laboratory logo on it, it does have a TUV and a CE logo. TUV is the equivalent to UL but is a testing house mostly geared towards Europe.
That being said, TUV like UL is listed as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) in the United States (for more information see: https://www.tuv.com/usa/en/ctuvus-certification.html) and thus is just as safe.
The UL logo may be more recognizable in the US, however they too certify for both markets, with UL also having their UL EU certification program.
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> A lot of the GaN bricks look impressive, but they're always made by a sketchy peripheral maker.
90% of them are in fact just exact copies of Navitas reference design, and are made by just a few factories which sell white label.
Infineon: https://www.infineon.com/cms/en/product/power/gan-hemt-galli...
Nexperia: https://efficiencywins.nexperia.com/efficient-products/mosfe...
TI: https://www.ti.com/lit/pdf/tiduds8a
For chargers, I exclusively buy Anker. They're the best there is.
I'm currently charging the Air M1 off a 20W Anker Nano which is kind of amazing it works for a 30g device although it charges very slowly but is quite handy to drop in your bag in case you run out. I've ordered a 45W one but they are out of stock presently.
(https://www.amazon.co.uk/Charger-Anker-Durable-PowerPort-Inc...)
I have a collection of RAVPower GaN chargers that are very solid so far. Been using them for about a year now.
In fact, the Apple power brick that came with my M1 MacBook Pro is still in its original packaging; I have not used it yet. The 65 Watt RAVPower one seems as if it's about half the size. More than half the mass, though.
(I have never needed to try warranty support for RAVPower things.)
I don't know if they make the size you need, but Anker makes GaN chargers and their products are usually pretty solid.
I can recommend the minix 66w gan charger. Ideal for travel.
It surprises me that GaN marketed power supplies cost extra. The actual GaN transistors are under 10 cents now, and by using one you can use a smaller inductor, smaller capacitor and smaller heatsinks. Those smaller components lead to a smaller plastic case and smaller circuit board.
All of those smaller things cost less, so the finished product has lower production costs.
The ones I've bought haven't been terribly expensive. About half the price of Apple chargers. I daresay you don't want to go too cheap with chargers as they can overheat/pack up/damage things.
At first glance I thought the article would discuss GaN. Agree with the overall point; Anker seems to be making well-thought-out GaN chargers.
Can this also be used for electric car inverters?
Yes, it can, but that would be pricey with regards to how much current they can handle. GaN switches can't handle as much as silicon, or SiC, despite their higher efficiency.
Stall torque == current.