Microelectronics world news

Efficient Power Conversion Corp (EPC) of El Segundo, CA, USA — which makes enhancement-mode gallium nitride on silicon (eGaN) power field-effect transistors (FETs) and integrated circuits for power management applications — has released its Phase 18 Reliability Report, providing new insights into eGaN device reliability. ..

Wolfspeed Inc of Durham, NC, USA — which makes silicon carbide (SiC) materials and power semiconductor devices — has entered into separate, privately negotiated subscription agreements with investors pursuant to which it will place (i) $379m of its 3.5% convertible 1.5 lien senior secured notes due 2031 and (ii) 3,250,030 shares of common stock at a purchase price of $18.458 per share, and pre-funded warrants to purchase up to 2,000,000 shares of common stock at a price of $18.448 per pre-funded warrant. The issuance and sale of the notes, shares and fre-Funded warrants is expected to settle on 26 March, subject to customary closing conditions. Funds managed by new and existing investors participated in these private placements...

A DC/DC power delivery board from Navitas Semiconductor enables direct conversion from 800 V to 6 V in a single stage. Showcased at NVIDIA GTC 2026, the design eliminates the conventional 48-V intermediate bus converter stage within compute server trays, simplifying power delivery for NVIDIA AI infrastructure.

Using GaNFast power ICs, the board reaches 96.5% peak efficiency at full load with 1-MHz switching and a power density of 2.1 kW/in³. The primary side integrates sixteen 650-V GaNFast FETs in DFN 8×8 packages with dual-side cooling in a stacked full-bridge topology, while center-tapped outputs use 25-V silicon MOSFETs. High-frequency switching enables smaller passives and planar magnetics, increasing power density.

The Navitas power delivery board is about 20% thinner than a mobile phone. Its ultra-low profile allows close placement to the GPU board, minimizing loop inductance to improve transient response and power distribution efficiency.

For more information, contact a Navitas representative or email info@navitassemi.com. A timeline for availability was not provided at the time of this announcement.

Navitas Semiconductor 

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The ST64UWB family of ultra-wideband SoCs from ST provides increased range and processing capability for automotive applications. Backward compatible with IEEE 802.15.4z, the chips also support the emerging IEEE 802.15.4ab UWB standard, enabling device localization and tracking at distances of several hundred meters. Target use cases include hands-free digital keys and high-accuracy vehicle localization.

Enhancements such as multi-millisecond ranging (MMS) and narrow-band assistance (NBA) provide greater operating range and improve link robustness, particularly for devices carried in bags or rear pockets. These features also facilitate close-range direction finding for more accurate interpretation of user position and movement. In addition, IEEE 802.15.4ab strengthens radar mode for more reliable in-vehicle child presence detection.

The ST64UWAB-A100 and ST64UWB-A500 are built on an 18-nm FD-SOI process, increasing link budget by nearly 3 dB versus bulk technologies and boosting range by up to ~50% beyond IEEE 802.15.4ab. Both devices integrate an Arm Cortex-M85 core, while the ST64UWB-A500 adds AI acceleration and DSP capabilities for edge AI-based radar applications. A third device, the ST64UWB-C100, expands the lineup to cover industrial and consumer applications.

The devices are now sampling to leading Tier 1 suppliers and OEMs.

ST64UWB product page 

STMicroelectronics

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Semtech’s 224-Gbps/lane TIAs and drivers power 800G–3.2T transceivers and optical engines for AI/ML clusters, hyperscale data centers, and cloud infrastructure. Compliant with CEI‑224G‑Linear and LPO‑MSA, they support half-retimed (LRO), linear pluggable (LPO), next‑gen (XPO), near‑packaged (NPO), and co‑packaged (CPO) optics.

The 224G TIA family—GN1834L, GN1834DL, and GN1838DL—offers quad- and octal-channel architectures with flexible layouts. On-chip equalization, high linearity, and low noise boost signal integrity for LPO and next-generation linear optics.

The 224G Mach-Zehnder Modulator (MZM) drivers—quad GN1877 and octal GN1887—support SiPho, InP MZM, and TFLN optical transmitters with tunable gain and output swing. A CEI‑224G‑Linear host-side equalizer covers a wide range of host interfaces, from compact NPO/CPO to varied LRO/LPO/XPO trace lengths.

Both the TIA and driver series integrate real-time link monitoring and telemetry, enabling proactive diagnostics to reduce link flapping and improve network reliability.

The GN1834L, GN1834DL, and GN1887 are available now; GN1838DL and GN1877 are expected in April 2026.

For more information, visit Semtech’s optical page.

Semtech

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