GaN Talk Blog

The latest generation of 100 V GaN devices increase the efficiency, shrink the size, and reduce system cost for 48 V power conversion. The EPC2045, shown in figure 1, is rated at 100 V with 7 mΩ on- resistance that can carry a continuous current of 16 A. The EPC2045 is nearly one-tenth the footprint of a comparable Si MOSFET and has lower parasitic capacitances and can switch much faster than equivalent silicon devices, yielding lower switching loss even at higher switching frequency.

The EPC2053, shown in figure 2, is rated at 100 V with 4 mΩ on-resistance that can carry a continuous current of 32 A. The EPC2053 has lower parasitic capacitances and on-resistance than its silicon counterparts, yielding faster switching speed and lower power losses even at higher switching frequencies. These characteristics enable increasing the output power while shrinking the volume of the converter.

Gab-Su Seo^1,2, Ratul Das¹, and Hanh-Phuc Le^1
1Department of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering, University of Colorado
²Power Systems Engineering Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Colorado, U.S.A.

With drastically increasing demands for cloud computing and big data processing, the electric energy consumption of data centers in the U.S. is expected to reach 73 billion kWh by 2020 [1], which will account for approximately 10% of the U.S total electric energy consumption. A large portion of this consumption is caused by losses from inefficient power delivery architectures that require a lot of attention for improvements [2], [3].

This post was originally published May 26, 2017 on the PowerPulse.net web site . Learn more about eGaN technology and EPC GaN solutions for 48 V to Point-of-Load.

During last week’s PCIM Europe event in Nuremberg, Germany, direct 48V-to-1V power conversion architectures were a significant topic, mostly outside of the exhibit floor. Vicor was quietly showing its latest generation of 48V direct-to-chip power components. Ericsson Power Modules and Efficient Power Conversion were holding invitation-only meetings where future designs of 48V direct to load power conversion architectures were the focus of the discussions. By the end of 2017, several vendors are expected to be offering dc-dc converters delivering 48V-to-1V direct conversion.