News: Microelectronics
4 January 2022
EPC introduces 12V–48V 500W GaN boost converter demo board with same BOM size as silicon
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 announced the availability of the EPC9166, a 500W DC-DC demonstration board that converts a 12V input to 48V output. The EPC9166 demonstrates the Renesas ISL81807 80V two-phase synchronous boost controller with the latest-generation EPC2218 eGaN FETs to achieve greater than 96.5% efficiency in a 12V input to 48V regulated output conversion with 500kHz switching frequency. The output voltage can be configured to 36V, 48V and 60V. The board can deliver 480W power without a heatsink.
Regulated DC-DC boost converters are widely used in data-center, computing and automotive applications, converting a nominal 12V to a 48V distribution bus among other output voltages. The main trend has been towards higher power density.
EPC says that eGaN FETs provide the fast switching, high efficiency and small size that can meet the stringent power density requirements of these leading-edge applications. EPC2218 is claimed to be the smallest and highest-efficiency 100V FET in the market. The ISL81807 is the first 80V dual-output/two-phase (single output) synchronous buck controller with integrated GaN driver, supporting frequencies up to 2MHz. The ISL81807 uses current mode control and generates two independent outputs or one output with two interleaved phases. It supports current sharing, synchronization for paralleling more controllers/more phases, enhanced light load efficiency and low shutdown current. ISL81807 directly drives EPC GaN FETs, ensuring easy design, low component count and solution cost, says EPC.
“The Renesas controller IC makes using GaN even easier,” comments EPC’s CEO Alex Lidow. “We are delighted to work with Renesas to combine the benefits of their advanced controllers with the performance of GaN to provide customers with a low-component-count solution that increases efficiency, increases power density, and reduces system cost,” he adds.
“The Renesas ISL81807 is designed to fully exploit the high performance of GaN FETs for high-power-density solutions,” says Andrew Cowell, VP of the Mobility, Industrial and Infrastructure Power Division at Renesas. “ISL81807 reduces BOM cost for GaN solutions because it does not require an MCU, current sense op amp, external driver or bias power. It is also fully protected and integrates the GaN drivers. With the ISL81807, designing with GaN FETs is as simple as designing with silicon-based FETs,” he adds.
The EPC9166 demonstration board from EPC is priced $300 each and is available for immediate delivery from distributor Digi-Key Corp.
