GaN - good band gap, thermal properties. difficult to Fab, especially multilayer highly integrated cct. very hard to cut (dicing), for small parts (GaN in an overall package, such as charger), heat dissipation not a big issue. If used in VLSI or ULSI format (not saying there are other challenges to integrate circuit elements in to one chip), good thermal just pass its heat problem down to next level of package (2nd level package). Glad to know some small chip is panatrated to a consumer market, although a bit costly. IMHO. (by the way, I would use optical interconnect before count on electrical GaN IC... simple network traffic direct grid type might have some benefit using GaN with add on brain on the side as MCM... off topic here)
It's a shame you didn't get this article checked by someone who actually knows anything about power electronics. It's really quite confused in multiple ways.
Thank you, Mr. H. Your comment provided the explanation that I was looking for in the article.
So, essentially the charger is smaller but puts out the same amount of energy to charge. Is that pretty much it? So, If I've got a 45W Si charger and a 45W GaN charger my iphone will charge at the same speed using the fast charge feature, correct, no matter which one I use?
Judging by those photographs, neither the Anker or Apple 18 W chargers use GaN. I believe Anker is only using GaN for higher-power chargers. The large chips you see in the photos are not just controllers, they also incorporate the main power MOSFET switch, and are made of silicon.
It's a shame you didn't get this article checked by someone who actually knows anything about power electronics. It's really quite confused in multiple ways.
Thank you, Mr. H. Your comment provided the explanation that I was looking for in the article.
Yes, thank you! I’m glad I wasn’t the only one thinking they kind of missed a few points.
Many higher capacity chargers (bigger than iDevice types) are no longer legal for shipping to CA, something to do with wasted energy, using too much in to get too little out. I wonder if GaN technology is being use in the replacements made to be acceptable to CA.
The two replacement chargers I now have are much lighter than the previous (now illegal to ship to CA) chargers. Without cracking them open, I'm guessing there's no massive transformer in the new ones.
I would not only like this to be an option from Apple since I don't trust many other vendors when it comes to PSU safety, but I'd also like for Apple to stop supplying PSUs for their iDevices.
I've had lots of Anker devices over the years and they have all been solid. They are one of the few other than Apple I'm comfortable plugging into mains voltage. There is a ton of downright hazardous crap floating around out there
So, essentially the charger is smaller but puts out the same amount of energy to charge. Is that pretty much it? So, If I've got a 45W Si charger and a 45W GaN charger my iphone will charge at the same speed using the fast charge feature, correct, no matter which one I use?
Yup - but the GaN charger will be smaller and lighter. If you are on the move and cart a charger with you that can make a substantial difference in the weight of what you are carting around. If you aren't on the move with chargers in tow, then it probably won't matter as much.
Comments
Teardown photos of Anker and 18W iPad charger show very similar controller, and both are lacking large transistors with heatsinks.
Anker:
iPad 18W
Yes, that is correct.
The two replacement chargers I now have are much lighter than the previous (now illegal to ship to CA) chargers. Without cracking them open, I'm guessing there's no massive transformer in the new ones.
Yup - but the GaN charger will be smaller and lighter. If you are on the move and cart a charger with you that can make a substantial difference in the weight of what you are carting around. If you aren't on the move with chargers in tow, then it probably won't matter as much.