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Peregrine's New FET Driver Brings Industry's Fastest Switching Speeds to GaN Class-D Audio

UltraCMOS® PE29102 Enables Gallium Nitride (GaN) Transistors to Deliver Superior Audio Performance With Low Jitter

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 17, 2017 — (PRNewswire) — Peregrine Semiconductor Corp., founder of RF SOI (silicon on insulator) and pioneer of advanced RF solutions, announces the UltraCMOS® PE29102, a high-speed FET driver. With a switching frequency up to 40 MHz, the PE29102 delivers the industry's fastest switching speeds, empowering design engineers to extract the full performance and switching-speed advantages from GaN transistors. In class-D audio amplifiers, this new high-speed FET driver enables GaN technology to deliver superior audio performance with low jitter.

Peregrine’s new FET driver, the PE29102, brings the industry’s fastest switching speeds to GaN class-D audio.

"Peregrine's new high-speed driver is a great advancement," says Paul Wiener, vice president of strategic marketing at GaN Systems. "Our customers have validated the improved sound quality with GaN-based circuits, and we see the pairing of Peregrine's driver and GaN Systems' transistors as the superior solution in applications such as class-D audio, bi-directional DC-DC, and push-pull DC-AC power supplies."

Audio systems are challenged to both minimize size and deliver exceptional audio quality to listeners. At the system-design level, better audio performance and sound quality occur when distortion is reduced. MOSFET components have parasitic diodes and gate capacitance that creates jitter and distortion in class-D audio systems, whereas GaN FETs have much smaller gate capacitance and lower parasitics. GaN transistors can beat MOSFET jitter performance by a factor of ten and deliver reduced distortion and smooth sound. However, to reach this performance potential, GaN transistors need an optimized gate driver. The PE29102 is designed specifically for this purpose. Its high switching speeds result in smaller peripheral components and enable innovative designs for applications like class-D audio.

"GaN is disrupting traditional, power MOSFET markets and changing the way we live," says Alex Lidow, CEO and co-founder of Efficient Power Conversion Corporation (EPC). "In class-D audio systems, the audio performance is impacted by the FET characteristics. Our enhancement-mode GaN (eGaN®) transistors enable a significant increase in the sonic quality and higher efficiency. High-speed FET drivers, like Peregrine's PE29102, are critical to unlocking the performance potential of eGaN FET technology in applications like class-D audio."

Peregrine's UltraCMOS technology platform is the driving force behind the PE29102's industry- leading speed. The technology enables integrated circuits to operate at much faster speeds than conventional CMOS technologies. This speed advantage results in significantly smaller power converters, which benefits the design engineer with increased power density.

"By enabling GaN to reach its performance potential, UltraCMOS technology and Peregrine are playing a role in GaN's disruption into more mainstream applications," says Mark Moffat, director of Peregrine's power management product line. "In the case of audio, GaN technology is enabling the next-generation of class-D audio advancements, and Peregrine is proud to enable GaN in audio and beyond."

To showcase the GaN-enabling capabilities of this driver, Peregrine developed evaluation kits with two leading GaN transistor providers— GaN Systems and EPC.

Features, Packaging, Price and Availability
The UltraCMOS PE29102 is a high-speed FET driver with a switching speed up to 40 MHz. It is ideal for either half-bridge or full-bridge configurations. The PE29102 integrates resistor-settable, internal dead-time control and is implemented in a manner to preserve the integrity of the incoming audio signal. When used in conjunction with GaN FETs, low dead times minimize crossover distortion in class-D applications. The PE29102's unique set of phase-control pins enable the same part to be used for both phases in bridge-tied load (BTL) configurations—a technique used in audio amplifiers. It has an output source current of 2A and an output sink current of 4A. The PE29102 handles voltages up to 60V and supports a gate drive up to 6V.

Offered as a 2 x 1.6 mm flip-chip die, PE29102 volume-production parts, samples and evaluation kits are available now. 

Visit Peregrine's newsroom at www.psemi.com/newsroom for a product image and video.

Features

PE29102 GaN FET Driver

Switching Frequency

40 MHz

Propagation Delay

9.1 ns

Rise/ Fall Time

0.9 ns/ 0.9 ns

Dead-time Control

Resistor Settable

Source/ Sink Current

2A/ 4A

Minimum Pulse Width

5 ns

Voltage Handling

60V

Package

2 x 1.6 mm Flip-chip Die

ABOUT PEREGRINE SEMICONDUCTOR
Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation, a Murata company, is the founder of RF silicon on insulator (SOI) and is a leading fabless provider of high-performance, integrated RF solutions. Since 1988 Peregrine and its founding team have been perfecting UltraCMOS® technology—a patented, advanced form of SOI—to deliver the performance edge needed to solve the RF market's biggest challenges, such as linearity. By delivering best-in-class performance and monolithic integration, Peregrine's product portfolio is the trusted choice for market leaders in automotive, broadband, industrial, Internet of Things, mobile devices, smartphones, space, test-and-measurement equipment and wireless infrastructure. A Murata company since December 2014, Peregrine holds more than 400 issued and pending patents and has shipped over 3.5 billion UltraCMOS units. For more information, visit http://www.psemi.com.

The Peregrine Semiconductor name, logo, and UltraCMOS are registered trademarks of Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation in the U.S.A., and other countries.  All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

Editorial Contact:
Elizabeth Brown
Townsend Team
Phone: 619.993.4648
pr@psemi.com

 

The PE29102 evaluation kit enables users to evaluate the performance of the high-speed gate driver in a full-bridge configuration.

Peregrine Semiconductor, founder of RF SOI (silicon on insulator), is a leading fabless provider of high-performance, integrated RF solutions. Peregrine's UltraCMOS(R) technology - a patented, advanced form of SOI - delivers the performance edge needed to solve the RF market's biggest challenges. (PRNewsFoto/Peregrine Semiconductor)

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SOURCE Peregrine Semiconductor Corp.

Contact:
Peregrine Semiconductor Corp.
Web: http://www.psemi.com