Renesas is pushing gallium nitride deeper into AI data-center power systems with a new 650V device built to handle more power in less board space while removing heat from both sides of the package.
In its September 30 announcement, Renesas introduced the TP65H020G4PLSGBD, a 20 mΩ GaN FET in an 8 × 8 mm dual-side-cooled PQFN package for high-density conversion in 800V high-voltage DC AI data-center architectures. The company says it is the industry’s first 650V GaN device in this dual-side-cooled format.
The package is the story
Modern AI racks are moving from roughly 120 kW toward megawatt-scale power, which makes board area and thermal headroom limiting resources. Renesas says the new 8 × 8 mm package is 57% smaller than its existing 10 × 15 mm TOLT package and lowers top-side thermal impedance by 10% because heat can leave through both the top and bottom of the device.
That packaging change fits a broader shift already visible across AI infrastructure. BitcoinVersus recently covered ABB’s 800 VDC AI data-center power system, while Infineon and Eaton are pushing silicon carbide into the same 800 VDC transition. The common goal is to move more power through fewer conversion stages without allowing switching losses, heat or conductor size to overwhelm the rack.
Renesas summarized the new device in a directly relevant X post, highlighting the 8 × 8 mm footprint and its role in 800V AI data centers.
Renesas announces its dual-side-cooled 650V GaN device for high-density 800V AI data-center power conversion.
From 800 volts down to the rack rails
The device targets intermediate-bus converters that step an 800V supply down to 48V, 12V or 6V, as well as battery-backup and capacitor-bank stages in sidecar power racks. Renesas built the part on its Gen IV Plus GaN architecture and says it can switch into the MHz range while remaining compatible with commonly used silicon gate drivers.
A related engineering problem is protecting these increasingly high-power DC buses quickly enough when faults occur. BitcoinVersus has also examined SolarEdge and Infineon’s microsecond-scale solid-state protection for 800 VDC AI power. Higher-density conversion only works if switching, thermal management and fault protection scale together.
This English-language technical overview explains Renesas Gen IV GaN and the switching characteristics behind high-density power conversion.
Renesas has already tested a 6 kW reference design
Renesas says a 6 kW, 800V-to-48V LLC DC transformer reference design using the new device reached a power density of 2.6 kW per cubic inch. In the company’s module testing, full-load efficiency measured 0.21 percentage points higher than an equivalent board using the larger TOLT package.
Independent semiconductor coverage from Semiconductor Today confirms the core specifications and the intended role of the device as rack power moves toward megawatt scale.
Sampling now, production later
The device is currently sampling to major AI data-center OEMs and ODMs, with mass production planned for mid-2027. That means this is not yet a volume-deployed component across AI racks. The near-term significance is architectural: semiconductor vendors are redesigning not only the power transistor, but also its package and cooling path for the 800V era.
If megawatt racks become common, tiny reductions in electrical loss and thermal resistance compound across thousands of switching devices. Renesas’ new GaN package is a small component aimed directly at that much larger infrastructure problem.
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