News: Microelectronics
10 May 2022
EPC ships smallest 100V, 2mΩ GaN FET
Efficient Power Conversion Corp (EPC) of El Segundo, CA, USA has expanded its range of low-voltage, off-the-shelf gallium nitride (GaN) transistors with the introduction of the EPC2071 (1.7mΩ typical, 100V) GaN field-effect transistor (FET).
The EPC2071 is suitable for applications with demanding requirements for high-power-density performance including 48V–54V input DC-DC for new servers and artificial intelligence (AI). Lower gate charges (QGD) and zero reverse recovery losses enable high-frequency operation at 1MHz and beyond and high efficiency in a small 10.2mm2 footprint.
The EPC2071 is suitable for BLDC (brushless DC) motor drives, including e-bikes, e-scooter, robots, drones and power tools. The device is a third the size of a silicon MOSFET with the same RDS(on), QG is a quarter that of the MOSFET, and the dead time can be reduced from 500ns to 20ns to optimize motor plus inverter efficiency and reduce acoustic noise.
The EPC2071 is footprint compatible with EPC’s prior Generation 4 family of products: EPC2021, EPC2022, EPC2206. The Generation 5 improvement in area x RDS(on) gives the EPC2071 the same on-resistance as the prior generation with a 26% smaller size.
“The EPC2071 makes the ideal switch for the primary side of the LLC DC-DC converter from 40V–60V to 12V-5V,” says co-founder & CEO Alex Lidow. “This 100V device offers improved performance and cost compared with previous-generation 100V GaN FETs, allowing designers to economically improve efficiency and power density,” he adds. “These parts are also suitable for telecom and server power supplies, and solar applications. Additionally, EPC2071 is less expensive than comparable silicon devices and in stock.”
The EPC9174 reference design board is a 1.2kW, 48V input to 12V output LLC converter. It features the EPC2071 for the primary side full bridge. The EPC2071 enables 1MHz switching frequency and 1.2kW of power in a small 22.9mm x 58.4mm x 10mm size (power density 1472W/in3). The peak efficiency is 97.3% at 550W and the full load efficiency of 96.3% at 12V, delivering 100A output.
The EPC2071 eGaN FET is priced at 1000u/reel at $3.81 each. The EPC9174 development board is priced at $498 each. Both the EPC2071 and the EPC9174 demonstration board are available for immediate delivery from distributor Digi-Key Corp.
