With the growing adoption of and increasing applications for GaN, Bodo Arlt has taken the opportunity to talk to EPC’s CEO and Co-Founder, Alex Lidow to discuss what he believes is the next big market for this evolving technology

Bodo’s Power Systems
September, 2021
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These new generation eGaN^® FETs address the new needs of the eMobility, delivery and logistic robot, and drone markets for compact BLDC motor drives and cost-effective high-resolution Time of Flight.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— June, 2021 — EPC, the world’s leader in enhancement-mode gallium nitride on silicon (eGaN) power FETs and ICs, advances the performance capability while lowering the cost for off-the-shelf gallium nitride transistors with the introduction of EPC2065 and EPC2054

Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) introduces a new family of radiation-hardened (rad-hard) gallium nitride (GaN) products for power conversion solutions in critical spaceborne and other high reliability environments.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— June 2021 — EPC announces the introduction of a new family of radiation-hardened gallium nitride transistors and integrated circuits. With higher breakdown strength, faster switching speed, higher thermal conductivity and lower on-resistance, power devices based on GaN significantly outperform silicon-based devices. The lower resistance and gate charge enable faster power supply switching frequencies resulting in higher power densities, higher efficiencies, and more compact and lighter weight circuitry for critical spaceborne missions. Gallium nitride is also inherently radiation tolerant, making GaN-based devices a reliable, higher performing power transistor option for space applications.

Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) will showcase the company’s latest enhancement-mode gallium nitride-based FETs and ICs demonstrating how GaN technology’s superior performance is transforming power delivery for high power density computing, automotive, eMobility, and robotics.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— June 2021 — The EPC team will be delivering multiple technical presentations, an educational tutorial, and an exhibitor webinar on gallium nitride (GaN) technology and applications at the upcoming Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC) Virtual Conference + Exposition, June 14-17. In addition, the company will participate in the event’s virtual exhibition, showing its latest eGaN^® FETs and ICs in customers’ end products that are rapidly adopting eGaN technology.

GaN transistors and ICs increase power density in motor drive applications. An optimal lay-out approach allows obtaining ring-free output switching waveforms and clean current reconstruction signals either from leg shunts or from in-phase shunts.

Bodo’s Power Systems
June, 2021
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Manufacturers of GaN power semiconductors showcased their latest products, from 100 V to 650-V devices at PCIM Europe. PCIM Europe showcased several presentations about the benefits and use cases of wide bandgap (WGG) semiconductors, including gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC). Several manufacturers, including EPC, GaN Systems, Infineon, Nexperia, and STMicroelectronics announced several new families of GaN power semiconductors during the week.

Electronic Products
May, 2021
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The EPC2152 ePower™ Stage enables higher performance and smaller solution size for high performance, low-cost BLDC motors as demonstrated in the EPC9146 demonstration board.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— May, 2021 — EPC announces the availability of the EPC9146, a 400 W motor drive demonstration. The EPC9146 power board contains three independently controlled half bridge circuits, featuring the EPC2152 monolithic ePower™ Stage with integrated gate driver, 80 V maximum device voltage, 15 A (10 A_RMS) maximum output current. The inverter board measures just 81 mm x 75 mm and achieve an efficiency of greater than 98.4% at 400 W output power.

Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) will showcase the company’s latest enhancement-mode gallium nitride-based FETs and ICs demonstrating how GaN technology’s superior performance is transforming power delivery for automotive, computing, and robotics at the PCIM Europe 2021 Digital Days.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— April 2021 — The EPC team will be delivering two technical presentations, an educational tutorial, an exhibitor webinar, and participating in panel discussions on gallium nitride (GaN) technology and applications at the upcoming PCIM Europe 2021 Digital Days, May 3 – 7. In addition, the company will participate in the event’s virtual exhibition, showing its latest eGaN FETs and ICs in customers’ end products that are rapidly adopting eGaN^® technology.

Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) announces that the EPC2152 ePower™ Stage IC has received the 2020 Elektra Award for Semiconductor Product of the Year (Analogue).

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— March 2021 — EPC’s ePower™ stage, EPC2152 Integrated Circuit (IC), has been honored with an Elektra Award 2020 in the Semiconductor Product of the Year – Analogue category. The award presentation was announced on March 25^th during a virtual awards ceremony hosted by Electronics Weekly. These prestigious annual awards have been running for over 19 years to reward and recognize companies and individuals for their excellent performance, innovation, and contribution to the global electronics industry. Judging is carried out by an independently and unbiased, diverse, and knowledgeable panel of industry experts.

In last month’s Safety & Compliance column in How2Power, “WBG Semiconductors Pose Safety And EMI Challenges In Motor Drive Applications,”[1]Kevin Parmenter made some assertions about the difficulties of using SiC, and to a lesser extent GaN, power semiconductors in large motor-drive applications. This commentary is a response to that article, showing that GaN can be a game changer in low-voltage integrated motors.

How2Power
February, 2021
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Gallium nitride (GaN) transistors have been in mass production for over 10 years. In their first few years of availability, the fast switching speed of the new devices – up to 10 times faster than the venerable Si MOSFET – was the main reason for designers to use GaN FETs. As the pricing of GaN devices normalized with the MOSFET, coupled with the expansion of a broad range of devices with different voltage ratings and power handling capabilities, much wider acceptance was realized in mainstream applications such as DC-DC converters for computers, motor drives for robots, and e-mobility bikes and scooters. The experience gained from the early adopters has led the way for later entrants into the GaN world get into production faster. This article is the first in a series of articles discussing three topics that can help power systems designers achieve the most out of their GaN-based designs at the lowest cost. The three topics are: (1) layout considerations; (2) thermal design for maximum power handling; and, (3) EMI reduction techniques for lowest cost.

Bodo’s Power Systems
January, 2021
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EPC introduces the 40 V, 3 milliohm EPC2055 eGaN^® FET, offering designers a device that is smaller, more efficient, and more reliable than currently available devices for high performance, space-constrained applications.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — December 2020 — Efficient Power Conversion Corporation, the world’s leader in enhancement-mode gallium nitride on silicon (eGaN) power FETs and ICs, advances the performance capability of low voltage, off-the-shelf gallium nitride transistors with the introduction of the EPC2055 (3 mΩ, 40 V) eGaN FET. 

THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minnesota, USA – Digi-Key Electronics, the leading global electronic components distributor, announced that it has partnered with Efficient Power Conversion Corporation (EPC) to host a webinar on how to harness the power of eGaN FETS and ICs for motor drives. The webinar will take place on October 28 at 8 a.m. PST.

Register for the Harness the Power of GaN for Smaller, Lighter, More Precise Motor Drives webinar at EPC’s webinar page

These new generation 100 V eGaN^® FETs are ideal for 48-V_OUT synchronous rectification, class-D audio, infotainment, and lidar.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— September, 2020 — EPC, the world’s leader in enhancement-mode gallium nitride on silicon (eGaN) power FETs and ICs, advances the performance capability while lowering the cost of off-the-shelf gallium nitride transistors with the introduction of EPC2218 and EPC2204 100 V eGaN FETs.  The applications for these leading-edge devices include synchronous rectification, class-D audio, infotainment systems, DC-DC converters (hard-switched and resonant), and lidar for autonomous cars, robotics, and drones.

These new generation 200 V eGaN^® FETs are ideal for 48 V_OUT synchronous rectification, class-D audio, solar microinverters and optimizers, and multilevel, high-voltage AC/DC converters

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— August, 2020 — EPC, the world’s leader in enhancement-mode gallium nitride on silicon (eGaN) power FETs and ICs, advances the performance capability while lowering the cost of off-the-shelf gallium nitride transistors with the introduction of the EPC2215 and EPC2207 200 V eGaN FETs.  The applications for these leading-edge devices include class D audio, synchronous rectification, solar MPPTs (maximum power point tracker), DC-DC converters (hard-switched and resonant), and multilevel high voltage converters.

Gallium nitride is helping the transition from internal combustion engines to electric and smart cars.

Power Systems Design
July/August 2020 Issue
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Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) introduces the first of a new integrated circuit (IC) product family offering higher performance and smaller solution size for high power density applications including DC-DC conversion, motor drive, and Class-D audio.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— March 2020 — EPC announces the introduction of an 80 V, 12.5 A power stage integrated circuit designed for 48 V DC-DC conversion used in high-density computing applications and in motor drives for e-mobility.

It’s okay to start using gallium-nitride (GaN) devices in your new designs. GaN transistors have become extremely popular in recent years. These wide-bandgap devices have been replacing LDMOS transistors in many power applications. For example, GaN devices are broadly being adopted for new RF power amplifiers used in cellular base stations, radar, satellites, and other high-frequency applications. In general, their ability to endure higher voltages and operate at frequencies well into the millimeter-wave (mmWave) range have them replacing traditional RF power transistors in most amplifier configurations.

Electronic Design
November, 2019
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Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) will provide their industry-leading gallium nitride-based power devices in wafer form for ease of power systems integration.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— June 2019 — EPC announces the availability of their industry-leading enhancement-mode gallium nitride (GaN) devices in wafer form for ease of integration.  EPC’s eGaN^® FETs and ICs are traditionally sold as singulated chip-scale devices with solder bars or solder bumps. 

EPC introduces 100 V, 3.8 milliohm EPC2053 eGaN^® FET, joining the EPC2045, EPC2052, and EPC2051 to offer a comprehensive 100 V family of GaN transistors that are more efficient, smaller, and lower cost for high performance 48 V DC-DC conversion.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — April 2019 — Efficient Power Conversion Corporation, the world’s leader in enhancement-mode gallium nitride on silicon (eGaN) power FETs and ICs advances the performance capability while lowering the cost of off-the-shelf gallium nitride transistors with the introduction of the EPC2053 (3.8 mΩ, 100 V) eGaN FET.