GaN technology or Gallium Nitride refers to an emerging material used in semiconductors in place of the traditional silicon that had established and dominated the electronics industry for decades. GaN technology was originally used in high-frequency ,military and satellite technologies but has begun to establish a foothold in the consumer electronics industry.
This blog covers the emergence of GaN technology, and how it improves charging efficiency as well as the latest trends observed in the industry.
How does gan technology improve charging efficiency?
Gan technology facilitates faster switching speeds which translate to reduction in power loss during conversion. It expends less heat compared to traditional silicon based chargers, which means more energy is used for actual charging and not wasted as heat which results in the charger being cooler than traditional chargers. Moreover, gan technology ensures higher power delivery (like 65W or 100W) safely, efficiently and in a much smaller unit, making it compact without compromising on performance. In a real life use case this translates to quicker charging without the added bulk and a one charger fits all solutions for multiple devices such as laptops, phones and tablets.
Latest gan technology: Advancements and Trends
GaN2, GaN3, and GaN Prime
Gan2, GaN3 and GaN Prime are not the official industry standards, they are in fact names that were coined for marketing by major consumer electronics brands to represent newer versions of gallium (GaN) charger tech.
They can be perceived as Gen 2 and Gen 3 technologies with each generation showing improvements in design, performance and user experience irrespective of whether the core gan material has been changed or not.
GaN2
This generation of gan technology was introduced with the main focus on boosting the performance over the first gen gan technology. Its advancements include the following:
- Improved efficiency in power delivery
- Reduction in size compared to GaN1
- Less heat expenditure and better temperature control
- Better compatibility with multiple devices
- In this stage, compact 65W+ chargers became more common
GaN3
This generation was also introduced by Anker, along with other firms in 2021-2022, its main focus points of improvement were miniaturization and smarter power management. This generation brings its own set of advancements:
- Smaller unit sizes compared to GaN2
- Better thermal control resulting in improved safety and stability in performance
- Precise smart charging (auto voltage/wattage control per device)
- Enabling multi-port high-wattage chargers (example 100W chargers with 3 ports)
GaNPrime
This iteration focuses on ecosystem-wide smart charging. It focuses on the following improvements, building upon the previous generation:
- Active Power technology that dynamically distributes power across multiple devices.
- PowerIQ 4.0 that detects the device type and the current battery level to smartly prioritize charging.
- Compact and Eco friendly design made from sustainable materials resulting in better energy efficiency and ratings.
- Built-in temperature sensors helping in overheating
Final Thoughts
Gan technology is not just a new buzzword but its a major new leap forward for the semiconductor industry when it comes to providing smarter, faster, safer and more compact charging solutions that redefine charging technology.
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