News: Microelectronics
14 December 2022
EPC shipping lowest on-resistance 150V and 200V GaN FETs on market
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 – has launched the 150V, 3mΩ EPC2305 and the 200V, 5mΩ EPC2304 GaN FETs in a thermally enhanced QFN package with exposed top and a small 3mm x 5mm footprint.
The devices are claimed to be the lowest-RDS(on) (on-resistance) FETs in the market at 150V and 200V in a size that is 15 times smaller than alternative silicon MOSFETs. In addition to offering devices with half the on-resistance and 15 times smaller, QG, QGD, QOSS are more than three times smaller than Si MOSFETs, and the reverse recovery charge (QRR) is zero. These characteristics result in switching losses that are six times smaller in both hard switching and soft switching applications. The driver losses are three times less than silicon solutions, and ringing and overshoot are both significantly reduced.
For sinusoidal brushless DC (BLDC) motor drives, the devices enable <20ns deadtime and higher frequency to reduce noise, minimize size to allow for integration with the motor, reduce the input filter and eliminate the electrolytic capacitors, and increase motor + driver efficiency more than 8% by eliminating vibrations and distortions. This makes them suitable for forklift, e-scooter, e-Mobility, robots, and power tool motor drives.
For DC-DC conversion operating from 80V to 20V, the EPC2304 and EPC2305 enable higher switching frequency and up to five times higher density, and higher efficiency to simplify cooling.
The devices also provide higher efficiency, reduced size and weight, and robust reliability that are required for solar optimizers and micro-inverters.
The new devices are footprint compatible with the previously released 100V 1.8mΩ EPC2302, the 100V 3.8mΩ EPC2306, and the 150V 4.9mΩ EPC2308 for the maximum design flexibility.
“The EPC2304 and EPC2305 expand our family of easy-to-assemble and thermally enhanced QFN packaged devices to 150V and 200V,” says co-founder & CEO Alex Lidow. “Designers can use this family of products for smaller and lighter-weight BLDC motor drives, smaller and more efficient DC–DC converters, solar optimizers and micro-inverters, and higher-power-density USB chargers and power supplies. The footprint compatibility allows for optimization of performance and cost without redesigning the board.”
The EPC90140 development board is a half-bridge featuring the EPC2304 GaN FET and the EPC90143 development board is a half-bridge featuring the EPC2305 GaN FET. Their purpose is to simplify the evaluation process and speed time to market. The 2” x 2” (50.8mm x 50.8mm) boards are designed for optimal switching performance and contain all critical components for easy evaluation.
The EPC2304 is priced at $5.25 each and the EPC2305 is priced at $4.95 each in 1000-unit volumes. The EPC90140 and EPC90143 development boards are priced at $200 each. All devices and boards are available for immediate delivery from distributor Digi-Key Corp.
