Is GaN Disruptive? Revisiting the Criteria

Is GaN Disruptive? Revisiting the Criteria
by Alex Lidow on 06-07-2016 at 12:00 pm

In March 2010 Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) proudly launched our GaN technology at the CIPS conference in Nuremberg, Germany. Parts and development kits were readily available off-the shelf and therefore designers could immediately get started with a new state-of-the-art semiconductor technology.
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Let’s Reduce Wasted Energy in Server Farms

Let’s Reduce Wasted Energy in Server Farms
by Alex Lidow on 02-05-2016 at 4:00 pm

With the growth in streaming video and the promises of 50 billion IoT gadgets making our lives oh-so-much better, there is an alarming demand for online computational horsepower and bandwidth.

Why alarming? In 2014, data centers in the United States consumed approximately 100 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy. According
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The Mobility Imperative and the Untethered Consumer

The Mobility Imperative and the Untethered Consumer
by Alex Lidow on 12-10-2015 at 12:00 pm

Consumers want to be able to go where they want, when they want. They want televisions to be seamlessly synchronized with tablets, phones, laptops, and automobiles. They want all their communication, information, and entertainment to be available immediately, with high resolution, all the time. Recently the automobile industry… Read More


The Cost Challenge has Been Met – Let the Disruption Begin!

The Cost Challenge has Been Met – Let the Disruption Begin!
by Alex Lidow on 09-22-2015 at 12:00 am

Displacing the Silicon Power MOSFET with eGaN® FETs
35 years ago the silicon power MOSFET was a disruptive technology that displaced the bipolar transistor – and a $12B market emerged. The dynamics of this transition taught us that there are four key factors controlling the adoption rate of a new power conversion technology:

  • Does
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M&A Frenzy in the Chip Industry, the Growth of GaN, and Why It Matters

M&A Frenzy in the Chip Industry, the Growth of GaN, and Why It Matters
by Alex Lidow on 09-07-2015 at 12:00 pm

If expanding industries typically indicate vibrancy, a race to acquire and consolidate is generally reflective of the opposite – a period of slowed growth in mature, once high-flying categories. And while many industries experience a period of stardom, followed by a sharp and steady decline, we should be extremely worried whenRead More


Four Industries that will be Transformed by GaN

Four Industries that will be Transformed by GaN
by Alex Lidow on 09-02-2015 at 4:00 pm

In a previous post we discussed a few automotive applications that will be big markets for GaN technology. But this is just a small part of the GaN story!

GaN transistors such as eGaN FETs from EPC are today available with performance 10 times better than the best commercial silicon. What happens when several devices are integrated
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GaN Technology — Contributing to Medicine in No Small Way

GaN Technology — Contributing to Medicine in No Small Way
by Alex Lidow on 08-26-2015 at 12:00 pm

In past posts, the disruptive nature of gallium nitride (#GaN) semiconductor technology, especially eGaN® FETs, was discussed…now with significantly higher performance at an equivalent cost, the inevitability of GaN displacing the aging power MOSFET is becoming clearer.

This post highlights a specific end-use application
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Four Things a New Semiconductor Technology Must Have to be Disruptive

Four Things a New Semiconductor Technology Must Have to be Disruptive
by Alex Lidow on 08-21-2015 at 12:00 pm

This post discusses attributes of gallium nitride (#GaN) that make it a disruptive technology and identifies the four factors required for GaN technology to displace silicon as the technology of choice.

Displacing the Silicon with GaN

38 years ago, when I first entered the semiconductor business as a freshly minted Stanford
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