Gallium nitride has become one of the key technologies driving higher power density across power conversion, but adopting it is not always straightforward. Faster switching speeds bring efficiency gains, yet they also introduce new design challenges around gate driving, EMI, thermal management and passive component selection.
At PCIM 2026, Texas Instruments discussed how it is addressing those challenges through its latest GaN portfolio and reference designs. Rather than treating the power transistor and gate driver as separate building blocks, the company is integrating them into a single package, with the aim of simplifying system design while improving switching performance.
Integrating More Than Just the Power Device
Texas Instruments has been developing GaN technology for around 15 years and is now on its third generation of devices. While its portfolio currently centres on 650 V devices, the company also offers lower-voltage products and plans to expand further into the 200 V and 1200 V ranges.
According to Harald Parzhuber, Systems Manager for Energy Infrastructure at Texas Instruments, the company's focus extends beyond the transistor itself.
Rather than requiring engineers to pair a discrete GaN device with an external gate driver, TI integrates the gate driver into the package alongside the power device. Future generations are also expected to include additional functions such as temperature monitoring, power management and overcurrent protection.
The approach reduces the length of the high-speed gate drive loop, helping to minimise unwanted EMI while removing much of the complexity traditionally associated with driving GaN devices. Instead of generating positive and negative gate voltages, engineers only need to provide a standard 5 V digital control signal.
Why 650 V Is Still the Sweet Spot
During the discussion, Parzhuber explained why 650 V remains the company's primary focus. Today's GaN devices are built using a lateral structure on silicon, allowing attractive performance and manufacturing costs at this voltage. Moving significantly beyond that point increases device size and cost, making other technologies more attractive.
For higher-voltage applications, silicon carbide continues to offer advantages. Devices rated at 2.3 kV and 3.3 kV are already being demonstrated for industrial power conversion, where vertical SiC structures provide a better fit. That does not mean GaN stops at 650 V.
Texas Instruments demonstrated how lower-voltage GaN devices can be combined within multi-level converter topologies to address much higher DC bus voltages. One example shown at PCIM was a three-level flying capacitor converter using 650 V integrated GaN devices while operating from a DC link approaching 900 V.
Rather than relying on a single higher-voltage switch, the topology distributes voltage across multiple devices while maintaining the switching performance associated with lower-voltage GaN.
Faster Switching Changes the Design Priorities
One of the more interesting observations from the interview was that GaN does not necessarily make converter design simpler. Instead, it changes where engineers spend their design effort.
Integrating the gate driver removes much of the complexity surrounding gate drive circuits, protection and PCB layout. However, the higher switching frequencies made possible by GaN shift greater attention towards magnetic components.
As frequencies increase, inductors and transformers become physically smaller, improving power density. At the same time, magnetic materials become more difficult to optimise, with saturation, losses and material selection becoming increasingly important.
Texas Instruments works with specialist magnetic suppliers when developing its reference designs, selecting materials that match the intended switching frequency and operating current.
The result is a different optimisation problem. Rather than concentrating on gate drive design, engineers increasingly focus on magnetics, passive components and thermal performance.
Reference Designs as a Starting Point
Reference designs remain an important part of TI's engineering strategy. Rather than selling complete power converters, the company develops fully tested demonstration systems that show how its devices can be implemented in practical applications. These designs include schematics, PCB layouts, Altium design files, software and detailed documentation.
According to Parzhuber, customers regularly reuse critical layout sections from these designs, particularly around high-speed switching nodes, before adapting the remainder of the system to suit their own products.
The goal is not to provide a finished commercial design, but to remove much of the risk associated with developing high-performance power converters from scratch.
Data Centres and Solid-State Transformers
Looking ahead, Texas Instruments sees AI infrastructure as one of the strongest growth areas for integrated GaN technology. As data centres continue to increase power density, reducing converter size while maintaining efficiency becomes increasingly important. Integrating the gate driver within the power package helps reduce board complexity while supporting the high switching frequencies needed for compact power supplies.
Parzhuber also highlighted solid-state transformers as another major opportunity. Unlike conventional low-frequency transformers, solid-state transformer architectures use power electronics and high-frequency transformers to convert medium-voltage distribution into lower-voltage DC supplies. By combining multiple converter stages, these systems offer a potential route towards more flexible and compact electrical distribution networks.
For Texas Instruments, both applications reflect the same trend. As switching frequencies continue to increase and power systems become more compact, simplifying the implementation of GaN technology may become just as important as improving the semiconductor itself.
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