March 14, 2025 – Cambridge, UK – Cambridge GaN Devices (CGD), a fabless semiconductor company specializing in eco-friendly GaN (gallium nitride) power devices, has launched its innovative Combo ICeGaN® solution, designed to revolutionize electric vehicle (EV) powertrains. Targeting applications above 100kW, this technology addresses a market valued at over $10 billion, offering a cost-effective alternative to expensive silicon carbide (SiC) solutions.
The Combo ICeGaN® integrates CGD’s proprietary ICeGaN HEMT ICs with insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) in a single module or integrated power module (IPM). This hybrid approach maximizes efficiency, combining the strengths of both technologies to deliver superior performance for EV powertrains.
Dr. Giorgia Longobardi, Founder and CEO of CGD, explains: “Today, EV powertrain inverters rely on either low-cost IGBTs, which are inefficient under light loads, or high-performance SiC devices, which come with a steep price tag. Our Combo ICeGaN® solution bridges this gap by intelligently combining the benefits of GaN and silicon technologies. This not only reduces costs but also enhances efficiency, enabling faster charging and longer driving ranges for EVs.”
CGD is already collaborating with leading EV manufacturers and their supply chain partners to bring this advanced technology to market.
The Combo ICeGaN® solution leverages the complementary strengths of ICeGaN and IGBT devices. Both technologies share similar drive voltage ranges (e.g., 0-20V) and excellent gate robustness, allowing them to operate in parallel.
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Under light loads, ICeGaN’s highly efficient switching minimizes conduction and switching losses.
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Under heavy loads or surge conditions, IGBTs take the lead, benefiting from their high saturation current and avalanche clamping capabilities.
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Temperature adaptability: At higher temperatures, IGBTs’ bipolar components begin conducting at lower voltages, compensating for current losses in ICeGaN. Conversely, at lower temperatures, ICeGaN handles more current.
This intelligent combination, enhanced by advanced sensing and protection features, optimizes the safe operating area (SOA) of both ICeGaN and IGBT devices.
CGD’s ICeGaN technology has already proven its value in DC-DC converters, onboard chargers (OBCs), and certain traction inverter designs. With Combo ICeGaN®, the company is extending the benefits of GaN to high-power traction inverters above 100kW.
Professor Florin Udrea, Founder and CTO of CGD, adds: “In my thirty years of working in power devices, I’ve never seen such a perfect pairing of technologies. ICeGaN is incredibly fast and excels under light loads, while IGBTs dominate under heavy loads, surge conditions, and high temperatures. Together, they offer a cost-effective, silicon-based solution with manufacturing advantages.”
CGD has also developed a proprietary solution pairing ICeGaN devices with SiC MOSFETs, details of which were recently disclosed in an IEDM paper. The company plans to release a demonstration board for Combo ICeGaN® by the end of this year.
CGD will showcase its groundbreaking technology at the Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC) 2025, held from March 16 to 20 in Atlanta, Georgia. Visit CGD’s booth #2039 at the Georgia World Congress Center to learn more about Combo ICeGaN® and its potential to transform the EV industry.
