Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) publishes Phase-15 Reliability Report adding to the extensive knowledge base on GaN reliability and mission robustness.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— March 2023 — EPC announces the publication of its Phase-15 Reliability Report, documenting continued work using test-to-fail methodology and adding specific reliability metrics and predictions for real world applications including solar optimizers, lidar sensors, and DC-DC converters.

Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) expands its family of footprint compatible ePower™ Stage ICs to boost power density and simplify design for different power requirements in DC-DC applications, motor drives, and class-d audio amplifiers.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— March 2023 — EPC announces the introduction of two new 100 V power stage ICs rated at 15 A (EPC23104) and 25 A (EPC23103). The two devices join the 100 V 35 A power stage IC EPC23102 offered by EPC.

With Electronic Power Steering (EPS), the hydraulic system is replaced with an electric motor that aids the driver only when needed. Its digital assistance control can be modified online to adapt to driving conditions. There are, however, several design constraints to consider. One is that the driver does not want to lack the haptic feedback from the tires, especially when a vehicle is large, such as a truck. Other constraints are determined by safety regulations, particularly for automatic guided vehicles. These constraints require adopting an efficient, accurate and redundant system. Gallium nitride technology helps the designers in all these areas.

Power Electronics News
March, 2023
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EL SEGUNDO, Calif.—  March 2023 – Efficient Power Conversion (EPC), the world’s leader in enhancement-mode gallium nitride FETs and ICs, has teamed up with SHARGE Technology (SHARGE) to design a 67 W USB PD charger with a power display screen. The Retro 67 fast charger uses EPC’s 100 V GaN FET, EPC2218, which can deliver 231 A pulsed current in a tiny footprint of 3.5 mm x 1.95 mm offering designers a significantly smaller, more efficient device than silicon MOSFET for USB PD fast chargers.

EPC2218 provides SHARGE’s All-GaN fast charger with higher efficiency, state-of-the-art power density and lower system cost.

Since the launch of GaN-on-Si enhancement mode power transistors in March 2010 there has been a slow but monotonic shift towards adoption and replacement of silicon-based power MOSFETs. Initial adoption came from risk-taker visionaries in applications such as lidar, high-end audio amplifiers, robots, vehicle headlamps, and high-performance DC-DC converters. For the expansion of GaN for power conversion to get beyond the early adopters, a more user-friendly format than the WLCP needed to be developed. This format, however, needed to preserve the key attributes of small size, low RDS(on), high speed, excellent thermal conductivity, and low cost. In other words, the best package would be the least amount of package technically possible. Enter the PQFN…

Bodo’s Power Systems
March, 2023
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With the increase in government mandates to combat climate change, automakers are moving quickly to leverage new technology to respond by switching from the internal combustion engine to electric-drive vehicles. This article presents the design of a 2 kW, two-phase 48 V/12 V bi-directional converter using GaN FETs that achieves 96% efficiency and is targeted for the 48 V mild hybrid system.

PSD North America
March, 2023
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EPC’s GaN Experts will be available during APEC, showcasing the latest generation of GaN FETs and ICs in a wide variety of real-world applications.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — March 2023 — EPC, the world’s leader in enhancement-mode gallium nitride FETs and ICs,will be delivering multiple technical presentations at the premier power electronics conference; the IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC 2023) in Orlando from March 19^th through the 23^rd (see detailed schedule below).  In addition, the company will demonstrate it’s latest generation of eGaN^® FETs and ICs in applications ranging from high-power density computing, eMobility, robotics, solar power, battery charging, and more in booth # 732 in the Orange County Convention Center.  Stop by to see the ‘Wall of GaN’ – the broadest portfolio of GaN power semiconductors in the market available for off-the-shelf delivery.

EPC introduces the EPC9177, an eGaN^® IC-based reference design for high power density, low profile DC-DC converters to address new USB PD 3.1 stringent demands for multiport chargers and on-motherboard DC-DC converting 28 V – 48 V input to 12 V or 20 V output.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.—  February, 2023 — EPC announces the availability of the EPC9177, a digitally-controlled, single-output synchronous buck converter reference design board operating at 720 kHz switching frequency converting an input voltage of 48 V, 36 V, 28 V to a regulated 12 V output voltage and delivering up to 20 A continuous output current.

Five times smaller than an equivalent silicon MOSFET and twice as powerful as the previous generation of eGaN devices is the new sixth generation of devices introduced by Efficient Power Conversion (EPC). We asked CEO Alex Lidow in the video.

Electroniknet.de
November 29, 2022
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Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) introduces the 200 V, 10 mΩ EPC2307 that completes a family of six GaN transistors rated at 100V, 150V, and 200V, offering higher performance, smaller solution size, and ease of design for DC-DC conversion, AC/DC SMPS and chargers, solar optimizers and microinverters, and motor drives.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— January 2023 — EPC, the world’s leader in enhancement-mode gallium nitride FETs and ICs, introduces the 200 V, 10 mΩ EPC2307 in a thermally enhanced QFN in a tiny 3 mm x 5 mm footprint.

An exploration of a GaN-based design of a 2 kW 48V/12V bi-directional power module for 48 V mild hybrid electric vehicles.

Electronics Today
January, 2023
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This panel discussion from Electronica 2022 discusses the benefits and challenges for SiC and GaN in multiple application contexts, as well as the last barriers to overcome for widespread adoption, such as large-volume capabilities and prices.

Power Electronic News
January, 2023
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EPC introduces the 80 V, AEC-Q101-qualified EPC2252 GaN FET, offering designers significantly smaller and more efficient solutions than silicon MOSFETs for automotive-grade lidar, 48 V – 12 V DC-DC conversion, and low inductance motor drives.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — January 2023 — Efficient Power Conversion Corporation, the world’s leader in enhancement-mode gallium nitride (eGaN^®) FETs and ICs, expands the selection of automotive, off-the-shelf gallium nitride transistors with the introduction of the 80 V, 11 mΩ EPC2252 that delivers 75 A pulsed current in a 1.5 mm x 1.5 mm footprint. The EPC2252 offers power system designers significantly smaller and more efficient devices than silicon MOSFETs for automotive-grade lidar found in autonomous driving and other ADAS applications, 48  V – 12 V DC-DC conversion, and low inductance motor drives.

Aiming at laser time-of-flight lidar, Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) has introduced an 80V 15A pulse laser driver IC.

Electronics Weekly
January, 2023
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Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) introduces EPC21701, an 80 V laser driver IC capable of 15 A pulsed current for time-of-flight (ToF) lidar applications including vacuum cleaners, robotics, 3D security cameras and 3D sensing. 

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— January 2023 — EPC announces the introduction of the EPC21701, a laser driver that monolithically integrates an 80 V, 40 A FET with gate driver and 3.3 logic level input into a single chip for time-of-flight lidar systems used in robotics, surveillance systems, and vacuum cleaners. It is tailored to lidar systems for gesture recognition, time of flight (ToF) measurement, robotic vision, or industrial safety.

EPC and Richtek introduce a reference design that achieves greater than 98% efficiency using the RT6190 buck boost controller and EPC2204 EPC GaN FETs

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.—  January 2023 — EPC & Richtek announces the availability of a 4-switches bidirectional buck-boost controller reference design board that converts an input voltage of 12 V - 24 V to a regulated 5 V - 20 V output voltage and delivers up to 5 A continuous current and 6.5 A maximum current. The combination of the new Richtek RT6190 controller with ultra-efficient EPC2204 GaN FETs from EPC shrinks the solution size by greater than 20% compared to traditional solutions for high-power density applications.  The solution achieves greater than 98% efficiency for 20 V and 12 V output voltage and can operate without heatsink with maximum rise temperature below 15 degC for 20 V to 5 V, and 55 degC for 12 V to 20 V, at 5 A continuous current.

Richtek, the global leading analog IC design company has teamed up with EPC, the leading provider of gallium nitride (GaN)-based power management technology to launch a new reference design for fast charging applications, achieving high power density and up to 98% efficiency.

DigiTimes
January, 2023
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Power-conversion technologies are experiencing the first tectonic shift since the move from bipolar to MOS. That shift, of course, is due to the viral adoption of wide-bandgap power devices. At this point, GaN is more than a specialty technology; it is a broad-scale replacement for silicon MOSFETs in applications ranging from 30 V up to 650 V — a multibillion-dollar market.

Power Electronics News
December, 2022
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Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) introduces the 150 V, 3 mΩ EPC2305 and the 200 V, 5 mΩ EPC2304 GaN FETs offering higher performance and smaller solution size and cost for DC-DC conversion, AC/DC SMPS and chargers, solar optimizers and microinverters, and motor drives.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— December 2022 — EPC, the world’s leader in enhancement-mode gallium nitride FETs and ICs, introduces the 150 V, 3 mΩ EPC2305 and the 200 V, 5 mΩ EPC2304 GaN FETs in a thermally enhanced QFN package with exposed top and tiny 3 mm x 5 mm footprint.

Despite the continued progress in traditional transistor scaling, the semiconductor industry has reached an inflection point. The demand for faster, smaller, smarter, and more energy-efficient chips calls for new design and manufacturing paradigms. This eBook includes contributions from technology and market experts Malcolm Penn, Future Horizons; Tim Burgess and Bernd Westhoff, Renesas Electronics; Jean-Christophe Eloy, Yole Group; Luc Van den hove, imec; Ezgi Dogmus, Poshun Chiu, and Taha Ayari, Yole Intelligence; Alex Lidow, Efficient Power Conversion; Victor Veliadis, PowerAmerica; Richard Collins and Yu-Han Chang, IDTechEx; and Jean-René Lèquepeys, CEA-Leti.

EETimes
December, 2022
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