Innoscience Technology has launched a battery management system (BMS) based on 100 V gallium nitride (GaN) devices for electric three-wheelers and e-bikes, writes Nick Flaherty

The VGaN devices are connected by a common drain for bidirectional switching of battery charging and discharging, reducing on-resistance to 3.2 mΩ. 

The INV100FQ030A 100 V VGaN IC supports two-way pass-through, two-way cut-off and no-reverse-recovery modes of operation, and it has a low gate charge of just 90 nC in a package measuring 4×6 mm. The device does not have a parasitic body diode, which allows the bidirectional control and can replace two traditional MOS silicon MOSFETs.

Innoscience has developed a 48 V /180 A demonstrator of a BMS using the INV100FQ030A GaN transistor, packaged in a FCQFN top-cooled package. No heat sink is needed as the maximum temperature rise is below 50 C.

The 16-string charging and discharging battery protection system uses the controllable, bidirectional conduction and cut-off features in the VGaN device, enabling four operational states: normal charging and discharging; charging protection; discharging protection, and sleep mode.

“With 16 V GaNs, we can replace 18 pairs of silicon MOSFETs (36 in total), significantly reducing both the board area and system-loop impedance. This optimisation not only enhances performance and reduces system size, but also drives down the overall system cost, making it a more efficient and cost-effective solution for battery protection systems,” said Dr. Denis Marcon, general manager of Innoscience Europe.