The Science of Sound
Audio systems go beyond putting more speakers in a car. There’s a fair bit of science involved, and it’s not just about making things sound better or louder. It’s also about quality, as well as finding ways for it to consume less energy. Besides, no one wants a battery-sapping arrangement.
Porsche, together with Burmester and the University of Stuttgart, has come up with a solution that should be of interest to audiophiles. It aims to offer significantly greater efficiency and power density than current setups, and it involves the use of Gallium Nitride (GaN).
Porsche
Why Gallium Nitride?
In this case, Gallium Nitride is being used as a semiconductor material. GaN isn’t exactly a new thing in the world of cars. It’s already being applied in charging systems, DC-DC converters, and even in traction motor inverters for recouping energy through deceleration and braking.
The reason for using this material is logical. It can be packaged in a more compact manner, which does wonders for space efficiency. Compared to silicon, it switches on faster, heats up less, and most importantly, handles higher loads.
Porsche
The Benefits
So, what’s this got to do with the audio system? The more compact arrangement allows for greater packaging flexibility and will benefit future models. Less heat emitted also means better energy efficiency, and because GaN semiconductors can handle loads, powerful amplifiers don’t require loads of transistors to run. The GaN-equipped audio system will be applied to models equipped with the Burmester High-End setup.
The audio system is just the start. Expect Porsche to apply this know-how to other parts and functions of the vehicles. As cars get more tech-heavy and dependent, solutions like these will become more and more vital moving forward. Eventually, we may see GaN semiconductors becoming the industry norm, being applied to auxiliaries, powertrains, and more. Hopefully, though, this doesn’t trigger yet another semiconductor shortage in the future.
Porsche
