Compact GaN Power Supplies Help Boost Efficiency

Oct. 2, 2025

A quick view of how GaN power supplies are improving efficiency while taking up less space.

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Navitas is well known in the gallium-nitride (GaN) and silicon-carbide (SiC) space. In this video (above), Dr. Llew Vaughan-Edmunds, Senior Director of Product Management, shows me some examples of GaN power supplies and how they provide more compact and more efficient solutions like the tiny mobile chargers on the market now (Fig. 1).

1. GaN is already showing up in mobile chargers that are significantly smaller and more efficient than the larger silicon devices to the right.

GaN technology has also shrunk the size of power supplies need to support that latest HDTVs (Fig. 2). The more compact GaN power supplies require less space as well as less cooling because they’re more efficient.

Large-screen TVs benefit from compact GaN power supplies — 2. Large-screen TVs also benefit from the compact size of GaN power supplies (bottom) compared to silicon implementations (top).

In the data center, the ability to reduce the size of server power supplies using GaN transistors leaves more space for additional storage or logic (Fig. 3). Most systems utilize a pair of power supplies to provide redundancy. A system can run on a single power supply. Furthermore, the supplies are hot-swappable, which enables continuous operation during failure and replacement.

Rack computer supports redundant GaN power supplies — 3. This rack computer supports redundant GaN power supplies that fit into slots in the lower right of the system, taking up much less space than silicon-based solutions.

Electric vehicles (EVs) are another area where GaN makes a difference (Fig. 4). As noted in the prior examples, GaN solutions are smaller, cooler, and more efficient. The weight reduction is minor, but a nice side benefit. The cooler operation and smaller size will have a bigger impact on EV design.

Silicon-based EV system (left) is significantly larger than the smaller, more efficient GaN alternative (right). — 4. The silicon-based EV system (left) is significantly larger than its smaller and more efficient GaN alternative (right).

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GaN: Switching It Up in Power Electronics

Learn more about how GaN is changing the landscape of power electronics and what to consider when designing it into a power supply.

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William G. Wong | Senior Content Director - Electronic Design and Microwaves & RF

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