Energy conservation, emission reduction, and alleviating resource and environmental constraints have always been central themes of sustainable development in today's society. As an excellent secondary energy source, electricity has become an indispensable part of people's daily lives. With the rapid development and widespread adoption of consumer electronics, improving the efficiency of existing power converters has become an increasingly urgent demand. Meanwhile, the continuous upgrades and iterations of smart electronic devices have posed additional challenges to traditional power adapters. Higher conversion efficiency, more compact form factors, and increased output power have become the standards for the new generation of power adapters.

In recent years, as silicon-based semiconductor power devices have approached their developmental limits, traditional switching power adapters are gradually failing to meet the requirements of new smart electronic products. Therefore, researching next-generation power adapters based on new semiconductor materials holds significant importance for improving power conversion efficiency and power density, achieving portability and convenience, reducing energy consumption, and contributing to the development of green cities.

Power switching devices made from wide-bandgap semiconductor gallium nitride (GaN) offer excellent characteristics such as low on-resistance, high operating frequency, and high-temperature tolerance. The higher operating frequency can effectively reduce the size of energy storage components like capacitors and inductors, while the superior temperature characteristics make GaN devices perform exceptionally well in high-power adapters. Thus, GaN power devices have the potential to replace silicon-based devices as the key components of the next generation of high-efficiency, compact power adapters.

Moreover, GaN devices can be fabricated on large, low-cost silicon substrates, with wafer sizes already reaching 8 inches. The manufacturing process for GaN devices is compatible with existing CMOS production lines. Leveraging the extensive existing CMOS mass-production capabilities and large, low-cost silicon substrates, GaN power devices also have significant potential for cost reduction.

Depending on the output power requirements for different applications, power adapters hold varying market shares across different fields. GaN-based power adapters, with their unique device advantages, are expected to have substantial market value in areas such as photovoltaic inverters, industrial motor drives, electric vehicles, and uninterruptible power supplies. Additionally, thanks to the planar structure of GaN devices, which facilitates integration, and with advancements in next-generation semiconductor manufacturing processes, integrating GaN power devices with gate drivers on the same chip to create driver-integrated GaN power devices can significantly reduce parasitic electrical parameters in the driving loop. This would further increase the switching frequency of GaN devices to over 1 MHz, enhance system stability, and make them more suitable for emerging power adapter markets with higher demands for compactness and efficiency.

Therefore, researching GaN-based power adapters is not only of great significance for energy conservation, emission reduction, and improving energy efficiency but also holds broad prospects in terms of market demand.