Power adapters, whether for a laptop, phone, or other device, do just one job. They charge the battery when its charge level is low. In the past, these adapters were quite large and bulky. Recently, however, companies have begun to implement GaN chargers. This has led to a significant shift towards smaller and more portable adapters.

Thanks to the GaN charger, power adapters have become smaller and easier to carry. But it's not just the size that makes this charging technology better than traditional power adapters.

What is GaN?

GaN, which stands for gallium nitride, is a semiconductor material. Like all semiconductors, this semiconductor can act as both a conductor and an insulator. Its behavior depends on what voltage flows through it.

Semiconductors play a basic but very important role in electronic devices. When formed into transistors, they act as tiny devices capable of amplifying or switching electronic signals. Inside a chip, you'll find thousands or even millions of such devices.

The most common semiconductor material that manufacturers use in devices is silicon. You will find it in the form of silicon oxide. And the most common transistors that are inside various devices are MOSFETs. But GaN is not just an ordinary semiconductor.

Gallium nitride belongs to a special category of materials called wide-bandgap semiconductors. The wide band gap means that these materials require a high voltage to go from insulator to conductor. But this does not mean that GaN materials have a high total resistance.

To be precise, compared to silicon oxide, GaN has a lower resistance. And that's why it does a much better job of switching and holding signals. These wide bandgap semiconductors also perform better at high voltages and temperatures. These two properties in particular make the material very useful for power adapters.

What role does GaN charging technology play in power adapters?

There's a lot inside the power adapter you use to charge your devices. After all, power adapters must provide safe charging. In other words, they should determine the amperage and voltage that your device can handle. They must also provide voltage regulation throughout the charging process. In addition, they convert alternating current coming from the wall into direct current.

For all the components packed into a relatively small size, transistors play a huge role. In particular, they perform important tasks in power management and energy conversion. The big advantage of GaN is that they are better at these tasks compared to traditional semiconductors.

The advantage of GaN in this regard is best explained by manufacturers of power solutions such as IN. The manufacturer claims that the use of gallium nitride in transistors leads to better signal transmission in various devices. It is also associated with less quality loss and better distribution.

Thanks to GaN, accessory manufacturers don't need to use tons of transistors to achieve a target output power level. More importantly, this means smaller and more compact power adapters. Even transformers that take up a lot of space inside adapters can be reduced to extremely small sizes.

All these advantages of GaN have led to the appearance of small and tiny 30-watt power adapters on the market. Despite their small size, they can easily charge your phone in about an hour. And for laptops, power adapters with gallium nitride technology can easily fit in a bag.

What does gallium nitride charging mean to you?

No matter how good a Gallium Nitride charge may be, the final say is with the buyer. One important thing should be noted here: phone manufacturers have stopped including a charger in the delivery package. Although laptops still come with power adapters, most are too large to be easily carried.

That being said, if you've had multiple devices in the past, you may already have multiple chargers. But if you want better performance and more portability, it's time to replace those old devices with a new GaN charging adapter.

And while GaN on chargers is still fairly new, there are already plenty of great adapters on the market. Most of them even cost less than traditional charging adapters. In addition, some of them allow you to charge several devices from one charger. That is, they have several USB ports.

But make sure you check all the features before buying. GaN charging adapters will not be good unless they are equipped with advanced charging solutions. This applies to power supply standards, USB standards, amperage and voltage ratings.

If you are confused among all the GaN charging adapters available in the market, you can check out our guide. It lists the best power adapters the market has to offer.