The difference between USB, PD and GaN？

With the development of the times, mobile phones and other electronic accessories are updated, and different chargers have been launched on the market to conform to the development of the times. USB, QC3.0, PD, and GaN are also constantly updated and most of people will misunderstand it. Let me tell you about the difference between USB, QC3.0, PD, GaN.

1.What is gallium nitride (GaN)?

GaN → Gallium Nitride is a third-generation new semiconductor material with high resistance, high frequency, high temperature resistance, and stable chemical properties. Gallium nitride power devices are dozens of times the power characteristic ratio of ordinary silicon-based devices. It has many advantages such as easy heat dissipation, small size, low loss, high power and so on.

From the above we know that gallium nitride is a kind of material, it has nothing to do with the agreement, the current industry development fast charging trend is PD chargers, so most of them will be applied to PD chargers. Using gallium nitride MOS tube chargers, the switching frequency can be increased, and the product volume can be reduced by 30-60% (single-port output) and weight by 20-40% compared with traditional silicon MOS tube chargers.

For example, the GaN gallium nitride PD65W three-port charger supports PD fast charging and Huawei SCP super fast charging protocol (22.5W). It can support PD fast charging and Huawei SCP fast charging for iPhone8-iPhone12 series models, MacBook, Huawei mobile phones, etc. The device achieves fast charging effect.

2.Which field is gallium nitride used?

There are three more important directions:

1.The field of optoelectronics: like common LED, lidar and VCSEL sensors;

2.Power field: common power devices such as fast charging heads and inverters;

3.RF field: 5G base stations, radars, low-orbit satellites, etc.

3.Are GaN chargers more expensive than other ordinary chargers?

Compared with ordinary chargers, the R&D/manufacturing cost of gallium nitride chargers is much higher, and the price will naturally be higher than ordinary chargers. Another example is the single-port GaN charger and the multi-port GaN charger, which also have different prices due to different costs.

4.What is PD fast charge?

The PD protocol is a safe charging standard formulated by the International USB-IF Organization Association.

Apple is a sub-member of the association, and Apple’s original PD chargers also follow this standard.

Apple has supported PD fast since the iPhone 8 series models released in 2017. iPhone8-iPhone11 series models support PD18W fast charging, and use with PD18W and above charger + USB-C to Lightning Apple fast charging data cable to achieve fast charging effect, and can charge up to 50% in 30 minutes;

iPhone12 series models support PD20W fast charging, and use it with PD20W and above charger + USB-C to Lightning Apple fast charging data cable to achieve fast charging effect, and it can charge up to 60% in 30 minutes.

Of course, the devices that use the PD fast charge protocol are not only Apple’s iPhone, iPad Pro, MacBook, Samsung’s Galaxy S20 series, etc., but also Huawei, Honor, Contact and other brand laptops. At present, the common mobile phone fast charging agreements on the market are as follows Such as QC2.0/3.0/4.0, SCP, AFC, PD, Dash Charge, VOOC flash charging, dual-engine flash charging, etc.

A major feature of PD fast charging is its high versatility!

5.What is QC3.0 fast chargre?

QC3.0 Charger: QC3.0 fast charging may be nothing special but simply increase the current or voltage.

For example, the original 5V1A charger becomes a 9V2A charging plug.

There is no technology applied to it, but the charging is faster than before.

The advantage of QC 3.0 is that it can provide the best voltage under the precise requirements of the battery.

In my opinion, with the development of technology and the times, PD and GaN will become everyone’s first choice.