As the performance of portable electronic devices continues to improve and hardware iterates, user demand for fast charging technology is rapidly expanding from smartphones to tablets, power tools, and other fields. Against this backdrop, charging power, portability, and safety of fast charging devices have become the core directions for technological breakthroughs in the industry. Wang Nan, AC/DC Product Line Manager at Southchip Technology’s Smart Energy Business Unit, pointed out that the current fast charging industry exhibits three major trends: charging power leaping from 5W to 100W levels, strong demand for device miniaturization in travel scenarios, and enhanced safety through third-generation semiconductors and chip integration.
Addressing industry pain points, Southchip Technology recently launched a multi-port fast charging solution, achieving dual breakthroughs in size reduction and energy efficiency improvement through technological innovation. This solution innovatively integrates five core functions including the primary-side controller, high-voltage GaN, and isolated communication, reducing volume by over 30% compared to traditional two-stage architectures. Simultaneously, it incorporates self-developed technologies like primary and secondary soft switching and lossless current sampling, reducing standby power consumption to below 50mW and improving overall energy efficiency by over 0.5%. Wang Nan emphasized that this breakthrough benefits from the application of the SIMO architecture—achieving multiple outputs through a single transformer, eliminating peripheral components like the primary current sampling resistor. Only two chips are needed to complete the multi-port circuit design, significantly reducing BOM costs and product size.
At the energy efficiency optimization level, the Southchip solution adopts the PCCM (Pseudo Continuous Conduction Mode) control mode, reducing switching losses through zero-voltage switching (ZVS), lowering voltage spikes and electromagnetic interference (EMI), while meeting primary-side safety isolation and heat dissipation requirements. In the latest news on its performance, Wang Nan revealed that the seemingly minor 0.5% efficiency improvement can actually save users 300-400 milliwatts of power consumption and reduce the overall casing temperature rise by 5-10 degrees Celsius. Currently, this solution has completed verification at multiple leading clients and is about to enter mass production, poised to break the technical bottlenecks of traditional multi-port fast chargers.
Safety has always been the bottom line in Southchip’s technology R&D. Wang Nan stated that the company has obtained international certifications such as CQC, UL, and TÜV, establishing a full-process system from testing and verification to quality control, ensuring product stability in temperature control, thermal design, and extreme condition testing. The previously launched single-port fast charging solution has achieved over 95% efficiency, reduced more than 10 peripheral components, and gained recognition from leading brands in the commercial market.
The simultaneously released power bank solutions further expand application scenarios. Four new products cover the full power range from 22.5W to 140W, supporting diverse needs such as shared C ports, single ports, and independent C ports. Among them, the discrete protocol controllers SC2006A and SC2007A integrate large-capacity flash memory and dual 11-bit DACs, suitable for 3C (3-port, likely 2xC + 1xA) and 2C1A scenarios respectively; the all-in-one SoC solutions SC2016A and SC2017A integrate PD (Power Delivery), MCU (Microcontroller Unit), and Charger functions, offering extreme integration. All products support mainstream fast charging protocols like PD3.2 EPR&AVS and UFCS, and feature built-in LDOs (Low-Dropout Regulators), optimized power selection logic, and multiple protection functions.
Differentiated design based on customer scenarios is a highlight of the new products. For example, the SC2006A can adapt to MagSafe power banks and high-power proprietary protocols, while the SC2007A supports dual Type-C plus single USB-A output; the SC2016A integrates a buck-boost chip to be compatible with 2-5 cell batteries, and the SC2017A enables 20V applications with single-cell batteries through external MOSFETs. This strategy of “common integration + personalized adaptation” allows Southchip’s solutions to show broad prospects in fields like shared power banks and outdoor power supplies.
From mass-producing China’s first GaN direct-drive SC302x series in 2021 to launching the fully integrated primary and secondary side solution in 2023, Southchip Technology has always driven industry development through technological innovation. Wang Nan revealed that the “five-in-one” multi-port fast charging solution released this year, achieving extreme compactness and efficiency through the single-transformer multiple-output architecture, represents a significant milestone in the company’s technological evolution. He emphasized that Southchip will continue to be customer-value-oriented, simplifying design complexity through highly integrated solutions, helping partners accelerate product iteration, and jointly propelling the fast charging industry towards higher performance and greater efficiency.
