High frequency enhancement mode transistors, such as the EPC8000 series eGaN^® FETs from EPC, have been widely available since September 2013 and enable simplified designs at RF frequencies. In this installment, we present the RF characteristics of the EPC8000 series devices and show their implementation in a pulsed class A amplifier. The amplifier is pulsed to allow operation within the thermal operating limits of the device, since RF device power dissipation is typically on the same order of magnitude as the RF power delivered, unlike switching devices, such as the EPC8000 series, that operate well above 95 % efficiency. The EPC8000 series FETs, designed originally for switching power conversion applications, otherwise exhibit excellent RF characteristics and in conclusion will be compared with similar specified LDMOS.

EEWeb
By: Alex Lidow
May 29, 2014

Hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent to make the silicon technology supply chain incredibly efficient. How can emerging, high performance GaN transistors compete against this huge installed base of silicon-based production? Simple, the production of GaN transistors leverages the installed silicon supply chain, which significantly lowers the cost of GaN transistors!

Power Systems Design
By Alex Lidow, Ph.D.
May 27, 2014

DrGaN^PLUS EPC9202 100 V, 10 A board demonstrates the extreme size reduction and efficiency enhancement for power conversion achieved using high frequency switching eGaN® power transistors

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— May 2014 — Providing an easy-to-use way for power systems designers to evaluate the exceptional performance of gallium nitride transistors, Efficient Power Conversion Corporation (EPC) introduces DrGaN^PLUS evaluation boards. These boards are proof-of-concept designs that integrate all necessary components of a half-bridge circuit into a single, extremely small PCB-based module that can be readily mounted to demonstrate the excellent performance of a GaN transistor power conversion solution.

On June 4 IEEE PELS will offer a webinar by Alex Lidow and Michael de Rooij discussing the contribution of eGaN® power transistors to increasing efficiency in wireless power transfer systems.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— May 2014 — Efficient Power Conversion Corporation (EPC) experts on the design and use of gallium nitride transistors will conduct a one-hour webinar sponsored by the IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS) on June 4th from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM (EDT).

Silicon has reached theoretical limits of performance in power conversion. Gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC) will displace much of the $12B market for silicon power MOSFETs. There is product in production today that is 5-10 times better than the theoretical limit of silicon.

Bodo’s Power Systems
By Alex Lidow, Ph.D.
May, 2014

The popularity of wireless energy transfer has increased over the last few years and in particular for applications targeting portable device charging. In this article, EPC will focus on loosely coupled coils, highly-resonant wireless solutions suitable for the A4WP standard operating at either 6.78 MHz or 13.56 MHz unlicensed Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) bands.

Bodo’s Power Systems
By Alex Lidow, Ph.D. and Michael De Rooij, Ph.D
May, 2014

Produced by industry experts, EPC has posted an eleven-part educational video podcast series on the theory, design basics and applications for gallium nitride power transistors.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – April 2014 - Efficient Power Conversion Corporation (www.epc-co.com) has created and posted on line an eleven-part educational video podcast series designed to provide power system design engineers a technical foundation and application-focused toolset on how to design more efficient power conversion systems using gallium nitride-based transistors.

EPC9016 development board features 40 V, 33 A enhancement mode gallium nitride (eGaN^®) FETs in parallel operation increasing current capability by 67% and optimum layout techniques maximize efficiency.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— April, 2014 — Efficient Power Conversion Corporation (EPC) introduces the EPC9016 half-bridge development board for high current, high step-down voltage, buck Intermediate Bus Converter (IBC) applications using eGaN FETs. In this application two low-side (synchronous rectifier) field effect transistors (FETs) are connected in parallel since they will be conducting for a much longer period compared to the single high side (control) FET.

This column evaluated the ability to parallel eGaN^® FETs for higher output current applications by addressing the challenges facing paralleling high speed, low parasitic devices, and demonstrated an improved paralleling technique. For experimental verification of this design method, four parallel half bridges in an optimized layout were operated as a 48 V to 12 V, 480 W, 300 kHz, 40 A buck converter, and achieved efficiencies above 96.5%, from 35% to 100% load. The design method achieved superior electrical and thermal performance compared to conventional paralleling methods and demonstrated that high speed GaN devices can be effectively paralleled for higher current operation.

EEWeb
By: Alex Lidow
April, 2014

Alex Lidow, EPC CEO and co-founder, will be presenting results of a newly released family of enhancement mode (GaN®) HEMT transistors designed for high frequency operation into the 10 MHz range. The presentation will also highlight the stability of these devices under radiation exposure making them an ideal choice for high reliability applications.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — March, 2014 — Efficient Power Conversion Corporation, the world’s leader in enhancement-mode gallium nitride on silicon (eGaN®) power transistors will be presenting at the 39th Annual Government Microcircuit Applications and Critical Technology (GOMACTech) Conference which will be held in Charleston, South Carolina on April 3rd.

APEC 2014 is over. Held this year in Fort Worth, Texas, the annual IEEE power electronics conference left a number of impressions. For one, gallium-nitride (GaN) power transistors are evolving in interesting ways…

Electronic Design
March, 2014
http://electronicdesign.com/blog/pmbus-gan-and-more-dominate-apec-2014

Alex Lidow, EPC's CEO, is interviewed by Don Tuite, editor of Electronic Design, about EPC's new and novel applications for its eGaN FET.

Electronic Design
March, 2014
Watch Interview

EPC's Michael de Rooij presenting the Wireless Power Transfer demonstration for Alix Paultre, editor, Power Systems Design magazine.

Power Systems Design
March, 2014
Watch Video

Yole Développement is releasing, this week, the "GaN-on-Si Substrate Technology and Market for LED and Power Electronics" report. Analysts believe that GaN-on-silicon technology will be widely adopted by power electronics applications. The power electronics market addresses applications such as AC to DC or DC to AC conversion, which is always associated with substantial energy losses that increase with higher power and operating frequencies. Incumbent silicon based technology is reaching its limit and it is difficult to meet higher requirements.

http://powerelectronicsworld.net/article/0/79693-yole-power-to-dominate-gan-on-silicon-market.html

EPC experts will be making technical presentations on GaN FET technology at three industry-leading conferences in Asia – Electronica China, IIC China Power Management and Semiconductor and International Workshop on Wide Band Gap Power Electronics 2014 in Taiwan

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — March, 2014 — Efficient Power Conversion Corporation, the world’s leader in enhancement-mode gallium nitride on silicon (eGaN^®) power transistors will be making presentations at three industry-leading power conferences in Asia.

Since the Robotics and Mechatronics Institute is highly interested in the improvement of sensor and power electronics, we used the opportunity of this new robot development to evaluate the new enhancement mode Gallium Nitride FET technology from EPC and compare it with our up to this time best inverter design.

Bodo’s Power Systems
By Robin Gruber, German Aerospace Center (DLR)
March, 2014

At the IEEE APEC 2014 power electronics industry conference, EPC applications experts will make technical presentations on GaN FET technology and applications showing the superiority of GaN transistors compared to silicon power MOSFETs.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — February, 2014 — Efficient Power Conversion Corporation, the world’s leader in enhancement-mode gallium nitride on silicon (eGaN®) power FETs will be presenting three application-focused technical presentations at APEC 2014. Participants will learn about high frequency resonant converter, and high-frequency, hard-switched power converter design. The conference will be held in Fort Worth, Texas from March 16th through the 20th.

EPC8010 100 V gallium nitride FET is optimized for high frequency applications with positive gain into the 3 GHz range.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – January 2014 – Efficient Power Conversion Corporation, the world’s leader in enhancement-mode gallium nitride on silicon (eGaN^®) power FETs extends its family of high-speed, high performance transistors with the EPC8010 power transistor. Sold in die form, the EPC8010 is a mere 1.75 mm² with 100 V_DS. Optimized for high speed switching, the EPC8010 has a maximum R_DS(on) of 160 milliohms and input gate charge in the hundreds of pico-coulombs.

The quality of sound reproduced by an audio amplifier, measured by critical performance parameters such as THD (Total Harmonic Distortion), damping factor (DF), and T-IMD (Inter-modulation Distortion), is influenced by the characteristics of the switching transistors used. Class-D audio amplifiers typically use power MOSFETs, however, lower conduction losses, faster switching speed, and zero reverse recovery losses provided by enhancement-mode GaN (eGaN) FETs enable a significant increase in the sonic quality, and higher efficiency that can eliminate heatsinks. The result is a system with better sound quality in a smaller form factor that can be built at a lower cost.

EEWeb
By: Alex Lidow
February, 2014

Enhancement-mode gallium nitride transistors have been commercially available for over four years and have infiltrated many applications previously monopolized by the aging silicon power MOSFET. There are many benefits derived from the latest generation eGaN® FETs in new emerging applications such as highly resonant wireless power transfer, RF envelope tracking, and class-D audio. This article will examine the rapidly evolving trend of conversion from power MOSFETs to gallium nitride transistors in these new applications.

Power Pulse
By: Alex Lidow
February, 2014