News: Microelectronics
8 June 2021
BrightLoop leverages EPC’s eGaN transistors to develop affordable DC/DC converters for off-highway and commercial vehicles
BrightLoop Converters of Paris, France (which develops and manufactures high-efficiency, high-reliability power converters) is aiming to democratize access to performance and offer a range of converters dedicated to off-highway and commercial vehicles. The firm is teaming up with 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 – to deliver the upcoming VALUE DC-DC product line.
BrightLoop says that it has gained experience from many years of development for motorsport applications and learned to make the most out of GaN technology to deliver highly reliable, extremely light and compact converters. In 2020, the firm released a PERFORMANCE DC-DC product line offering what is claimed to be the highest power density on the market (~3kW/kg) and great versatility to extreme vehicle applications and motorsports.
After demonstrating that GaN technology can significantly improve performance, BrightLoop now wants to prove that using this technology does not necessarily lead to higher costs. With the launch of the new VALUE product line later this year, the strategy is to make performance accessible to these markets, which are now also looking for lightweight, space-saving and high-performance converters in the most cost-effective way.
The VALUE product line consists of two converters (M and L) respectively delivering 6kW/300A and 12kW/600A. While being competitively priced, they have a significantly smaller footprint and weight (<5kg) than the equivalent power converters currently available on the market, it is claimed. The VALUE range also features rugged and durable design, as per commercial and off-highway market expectations, and compliance with market standards such as ECE R 10, ECE R 100 and LV 124.
Moreover, BrightLoop’s VALUE M and L DC-DC converters can be used in 12V, 24V, 48V architectures and with 400V, 800V or more exotic battery ranges: the same platform addresses all these needs. Like the other BrightLoop converters, this range is based on a foolproof versatility and is available in single- or dual-output version (plus optional) with the possibility to set the output voltage by CAN between 10V and 54V. This feature allows the removal of some components – thus saving space – from the vehicle such as the battery equalizer (present when there are several batteries in the system). In addition, VALUE converters offer a reversibility function that allows, for example, to precharge the HV bus without the need for bulky resistors.
These features are made possible by the use of EPC’s EPC2029 80V,48A eGaN FETs, which feature a 1mm ball pitch. The wider pitch allows for placement of additional and larger vias under the device to enable high current-carrying capability despite the extremely small 2.6mm x 4.6mm footprint. Compared with a state-of-the-art silicon power MOSFET with similar on-resistance, the EPC2029 is much smaller and has many times superior switching performance, making it suitable for applications such as BrightLoop’s VALUE DC-DC converters.
“We are delighted to continue our collaboration with BrighLoop Converters to demonstrate the capability of our eGaN FETs and ICs to deliver the superior performance and the extreme reliability needed in these commercial and off-highway vehicles,” says EPC’s CEO & co-founder Alex Lidow. “We look forward to working together on future applications,” he adds.
“Our focus has always been to push the limits of performance further and, with this new VALUE product line, our goal is clearly to bring our know-how to markets which have historically worked with heavy and bulky power electronics, making it possible for them to have a taste of outstanding performance, versatility and power density while remaining in their price range,” says BrightLoop’s CEO Florent Liffran.
EPC’s eGaN FETs used in BrightLoop’s DC-DC buck converters
