In an interview with TimesTech, Dr. Sergio Rossi, Vice President ICT and SMPS Applications, Infineon Technologies, highlights the pivotal role of Gallium Nitride (GaN) in revolutionizing power electronics. From enhancing performance and reliability to empowering India’s growing ecosystem, Dr. Rossi discusses Infineon’s long-term vision, R&D leadership, and strategic approach to mainstreaming GaN adoption across consumer, communication, and electric mobility sectors.
Read the full interview here:
TimesTech: Infineon is actively investing in GaN technologies, and the ongoing GaN Road Show highlights its strategic importance. How does Infineon envision the role of GaN in shaping the future of power electronics, especially in consumer and communication segments?
Sergio: We believe that the industry is at a tipping point. GaN is already utilized by R&D teams of several major players for products that will soon hit the market. While we believe that Silicon, SiC and GaN technologies will co-exist in the market, we clearly see that GaN is transforming the power industry by enabling higher power densities, smaller form factors, cost competitive and lighter weight systems and thus enabling use cases that so far have not beencommercially viable.
TimesTech: As someone with deep expertise in wide bandgap materials and over three decades of semiconductor industry experience, how have you seen the evolution of GaN technology in terms of efficiency, adoption, and market readiness?
Sergio: I observed a long period of cautious observation made by both our customers and by our competitors; Since a couple of years, I observed an exponential growth in terms of market adoption of GaN; on top: several competitors started investing in GaN and are now presenting portfolio expansion. We welcome the fact that the semiconductor industry is moving towards a GaN offering as on one side this shows that GaN is a compelling technology on the rise, acknowledged by most players in the power electronics market, and on the other hand this offers multi-sourcing to our customers.
In terms of efficiency, GaN material inherently delivers better efficiency than existing Silicon and SiC materials. This said, we continue working on making our GaN more compact and enhance its competiveness. We are just at the beginning, noting Infineon’s investments in R&D I expect major further improvements on GaN technology in the next years –in terms of performance and cost effectiveness.
TimesTech: What differentiates Infineon’s GaN portfolio and go-to-market strategy from other players in this space? Are there specific use cases or customer success stories you can share?
Sergio: In two words: reliability and availability.
We believe that Infineon is the safest possible choice for our customers. While most GaN devices may look similar in data sheets or when testing them in R&D lab, what really makes the difference is long term reliability and stability. Our technology is the result of 15 years of R&D and field testing, and we believe it is as reliable as existing Silicon and SiC solutions. Quality and long-term reliability are key differentiators for Infineon GaN.
In addition, our GaN is produced in our own fabs which means that we are in full control of quality and also of the capacity we can offer to the market. As we anticipate a steep ramp of
GaN devices, we believe that our major investment in GaN capacity that results in an unprecedented manufacturing capacity, combined with the fact that we fully control our fabs gives our customers an extremely safe choice in terms of reliability and supply chain security.
TimesTech: In your view, what are the main challenges in mainstreaming GaN adoption, and how is Infineon addressing these—from design support to manufacturing scalability and reliability assurance?
Sergio: To gain the most from GaN technology, our customers need to adapt their design style. On one hand the highest value of adopting GaN is unleashed when utilizing topologies where the value of GaN switches is leveraged; on the other hand, layout and design practices must be adapted when designing a GaN based system.
Infineon offers, on top of a wide set of collateral and reference designs, dedicated support from our GaN experts to support customers in the selection of the best topology to optimize their application and, very important, dedicated schematic and layout review. We have a large team of competent engineers widespread in India to make sure our FAE can be close to customers and support them closely.
TimesTech: The Infineon GaN Road Show in India is a significant step to engage with the local ecosystem. What opportunities do you see in the Indian market for GaN-based solutions, and how is Infineon positioning itself here?
Sergio: We believe that GaN is a perfect opportunity for Indian companies to differentiate themselves in terms of both performance and cost. Talking to customers during the GaN roadshow I could sense the willingness to move fast into adopting GaN; some application areas that come to my mind are solar optimizers, inverters and battery backup systems; adapters and chargers; On and off board chargers for two/three wheelers and for electric vehicles.
TimesTech: As the Vice President overseeing global power applications and WBG strategy, what’s next for Infineon beyond GaN—are there emerging materials or technologies you’re already exploring to stay ahead in power innovation?
Sergio: Infineon always keeps innovating, both in terms of power technologies, new materials and in terms of novel topologies. We see next steps in terms of enabling higher frequency of operation, higher voltage, and lower cost … stay tuned!
