3 ms·

Thanks for the refs and discussion--especially that app note. I will note that we're all talking about 10+ year old chips and technology--mostly prior to GaN.

by bsder 11mo ago

Thanks for the refs and discussion--especially that app note. I will note that we're all talking about 10+ year old chips and technology--mostly prior to GaN. Apparently, I'm going to have to dig through a bunch of stuff to see what is current. While the topologies don't change, the tradeoffs between them do as technology changes. Edit: Stare at the LT7890/1/2/3 series for GaN stuff by way of comparison

exmadscientist 11mo ago
GaN is not appropriate for most use cases. It matters when high frequency matters, which is usually when magnetics size matters. I have also seen it used very well for ultra-low input voltages (basically energy harvesting). It is also uncompromising and brutally difficult to get working well. GaN-FETs love to commit suicide in new and entertaining ways. And LTC7890 is not something I would want to implement in any design (though of course I'd suck it up and do it if it was the right choice). 99% of the market is traditional boring stuff because 99% of the market is well served by traditional boring stuff.