In this installment more complex hard switching converters used for isolated DC to DC power conversion will be discussed.

EEWeb
By: Alex Lidow
October, 2013

Power systems and RF designers now have access to high performance GaN power transistors capable of amplification into the low GHz range, enabling innovative designs not achievable with silicon.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — September 2013 — 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 EPC8000 family of products.

EPC2018 gallium nitride power transistor delivers high frequency switching for exceptional performance in DC-DC power conversion and Class D Audio applications.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – September 2013 – Efficient Power Conversion Corporation (www.epc-co.com) introduces the EPC2018 as the newest member of EPC’s family of enhancement mode gallium nitride power transistors.

In this installment the optimum layout will be implemented in a high frequency buck converter yielding greater than 96% efficiency switching at 1 MHz.

EEWeb
By: Alex Lidow
September, 2013

When a new technology is introduced, it is not reasonable to think that engineers will intuitively know how to effectively and efficiently take advantage of the performance enhancements that the new technology offers – there is always a learning curve. This is being borne out in the case of the rapidly emerging technology of high performance gallium nitride transistors.

GaN FET technology was made available to the general power conversion engineering community in mid-2010 when Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) introduced the industry’s first commercially available GaN transistor. Since that time, EPC has continued on two parallel paths – one to expand their portfolio of products and the other to share what it learns about the use of the technology with power conversion systems design engineers. One of these educational efforts has been to work with the editors of Power Electronics magazine and publish a bi-monthly series of articles on the characteristics of GaN technology and its applications.

This series is entitled eGaN FET -- Power Silicon Shoot Out. Articles in the series took on both basic issues and specific applications using gallium nitride components. It is timely to make a quick review of the sixteen articles to make certain that we have accomplished the goal of assisting engineers in climbing the learning curve. This retrospective look will give us insight into what further topics and studies are needed to advance the adoption of GaN technology, the need to learn is never finished.

By: JOHAN STRYDOM, Ph. D., Vice President, Applications, Efficient Power Conversion Corporation
MICHAEL DE ROOIJ, Ph.D., Executive Director of Applications Engineering, Efficient Power Conversion Corporation
DAVID REUSCH, PH.D., Director, Applications, Efficient Power Conversion Corporation

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Packaging has its downsides: It increases the footprint and the price of a power MOSFET, while degrading its performance through unwanted increases in resistance and inductance. The best solution is to ditch the package, a step that allows GaN HEMTs to be cost-competitive with silicon incumbents, argues Alex Lidow from Efficient Power Conversion Corporation.

Compound Semiconductor
June, 2013

In a featured interview with EEWeb Pulse EPC’s CEO, Alex Lidow, discusses what steps need to be taken to help with wide adoption of GaN devices.

EEWeb Pulse
June, 2013

The first installment in a new monthly column by Alex Lidow, CEO of EPC, introduces the concept that GaN-on-silicon power devices could be a superior replacement for the aging power MOSFET.

EEWeb.com
By: Alex Lidow
June, 2013

Even though the eGaN FET was designed and optimized as a power-switching device, it also exhibits good RF characteristics. This article, the first of a two-part series on RF performance, focuses on RF characterization in the frequency range of 200 MHz through 2.5 GHz.

By: Michael de Rooij, Ph.D., Executive Director of Applications Engineering, Efficient Power Conversion
Johan Strydom, Ph.D., Vice President of Applications, Efficient Power Conversion
Matthew Meiller, President, Peak Gain Wireless

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It has been three years since the commercialization of gallium nitride (GaN) devices as MOSFET replacements in a commercial DC-DC application. With the emergence of GaN devices, coupled with now attainable applications previously not achievable with MOSFET-based FETs, a favorable stage has been set for GaN-device developers to release emerging application potential largely unimagined and untapped.

EETimes Asia
May 16, 2013
http://www.eetasia.com/ART_8800684828_480200_TA_f13f883a.HTM

By: Steve Taranovich, EDN
March 15, 2013

As the race toward leadership in the power element continues to evolve, industry experts have said that by mid-2013 about half a dozen GaN, Si, and SiC suppliers will reveal process enhancements, new architectures, and the latest new capabilities that will bring new choices and tools to the industry. http://www.edn.com/design/power-management/4409627/1/Si-vs--GaN-vs--SiC--Which-process-and-supplier-are-best-for-my-power-design-

Author: By Alix Paultre, Editorial Director, PSD
Date: 3/12/2013

In this podcast, we talk to Alex Lidow of Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) about GaN devices and their impact on the power industry. EPC is a leader in enhancement-mode Gallium Nitride based power management devices. EPC was the first to introduce enhancement-mode Gallium-Nitride-on-Silicon (eGaN^®) FETs as power MOSFET replacements in applications such as point-of-load converters, Power over Ethernet (PoE), server and computer DC-DC converters, LED lighting, cell phones, RF transmission, solar micro-inverters, and class-D audio amplifiers with device performance many times greater than silicon power MOSFETs.

http://www.powersystemsdesign.com/paultre-on-power---power-gan?a=1&c=6282

January 2, 2013

In this article we show that enhancement mode GaN transistors enable significant efficiency improvements in resonant topologies and demonstrate a practical example of a wireless power transmission system operating in the 6.78 MHz range.

By Alex Lidow PhD, CEO; Michael deRooij PhD, Executive Director of Application Engineering; David Reusch PhD, Director of Application Engineering, EPC Bodo’s Power Systems (www.bodospower.com)

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Although, for the last few years, there has been a lot of talk about gallium nitride(GaN) based power transistors displacing the entrenched silicon MOSFETs, it might take some time before the emerging gallium nitride on silicon (GaN-on-Si) based power FETs enter the mainstream power conversion space. However, in the meantime, a handful of emerging applications are poised to tap the benefits of this promising power technology. Besides commercial availability with high reliability, there are a number of unique GaN characteristics that are fostering these new applications.

Ashok Bindra
How2Power Today
December, 2012

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By: Sun Changhua
www.digitimes.com.tw
December 20, 2012

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So far in this series, significant efforts have been made to show the performance improvements that can be achieved with eGaN® FETs over silicon MOSFETS in both hard and soft switching applications. In every case, eGaN FETs showed improvement over MOSFETs. In this volume of the eGaN FET-Silicon power shoot-out series, the die size optimization process is discussed and an example application is used to show specific results.

By Johan Strydom, Ph.D., Vice President of Applications, EPC
Power Electronics Technology

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The advantages provided by eGaN FETs in hard switching isolated and non-isolated applications have been addressed previously. Here, we demonstrate the ability of the eGaN FET to improve efficiency and output power density in a soft switching application, compared to what is achievable with existing power MOSFET devices.

By David Reusch, Ph.D., Director of Applications, EPC
Power Electronics Technology

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Superior switching speeds of EPC’s eGaN FETs increases the efficiency of power electronics for highly resonant wireless power transfer.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.—August 13, 2012 — Efficient Power Conversion Corporation (EPC) today announced a high efficiency wireless power demonstration system utilizing the high frequency switching capability of gallium nitride transistors. eGaN FETs from EPC are an ideal solution for these systems because of their ability to operate efficiently at high frequency, voltage, and power.

Gallium Nitride transistors have been available since Eudyna and Nitronex first introduced depletion-mode RF transistors in about 2005. Since then many new companies have entered the field with both RF transistors (e.g. RFMD, Triquint, Cree, Freescale, Integra, HRL, M/A-COM, and others), and transistors designed to replace power MOSFETs in power conversion applications (e.g. Transphorm, International Rectifier, GaN Systems, microGaN, and Efficient Power Conversion). This article discusses if this ground swell of activity mean that GaN transistors are ready to replace power MOSFETs, and, if so, why?

By Alex Lidow, Ph.D., CEO, EPC
Power Pulse.Net

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Wireless power applications are gaining popularity in many commodity products such as mobile phones chargers. Enhancement mode gallium nitride transistors offer an alternative to MOSFET technology as they can switch fast enough to be ideal for wireless power applications. This article focuses on experimental evaluation of an induction coil wireless energy system using eGaN FETs operating at 6.78 MHz designed to be suitable for multiple 5 W USB based charging loads.

By Johan Strydom, Ph.D., Vice President of Applications, EPC and Johan Strydom, Ph.D., Vice President of Applications, EPC
Power Electronics Technology

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