In this episode of The EEcosystem Podcast, our guest is Dr. Alex Lidow, CEO and co-founder of Efficient Power Conversion. In this episode, we will find out more about Alex and learn about MOSFETs and the rise of GaN. How did MOSFETs grow so quickly? What technologies are driving GaN adoptions and why. We will also discuss the potential obstacles to GaN adoption. This and many more questions will be answered as we go along! Listen to this episode to learn more!

April, 2023
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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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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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EPC推出 80 V、通过AEC-Q101 认证的氮化镓场效应晶体管（GaN FET）EPC2252，为设计人员提供比硅 MOSFET 更小和更高效的解决方案，用于车规级激光雷达、48 V/12 V DC/DC转换和低电感电机驱动器。

作为增强型氮化镓 (eGaN^®) FET 和 IC 的全球领导者，宜普电源转换公司（EPC）进一步扩大已有现货供应的车规级氮化镓晶体管系列，推出80 V、11 mΩ、在 1.5 mm x 1.5 mm 封装内提供 75 A 脉冲电流的EPC2252，比硅MOSFET更小和更高效，适用于自动驾驶和其他先进驾驶辅助系统应用中的车规级激光雷达、48 V/12 V DC/DC转换和低电感电机驱动器。

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) strengthens market leadership in gallium nitride power conversion by adding significant 8-inch manufacturing capacities in collaboration with Vanguard International Semiconductor Corporation (VIS).

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— December 6, 2022 — EPC, the world’s leader in gallium nitride (GaN) power FETs and integrated circuits (ICs), and Vanguard International Semiconductor Corporation (VIS), a leading specialty IC foundry service provider, today jointly announced a multi-year production agreement to produce gallium nitride-based power semiconductors. EPC will utilize VIS’ 8-inch (200 mm) wafer fabrication capabilities, significantly increasing manufacturing capacities for EPC’s high-performance GaN transistors and integrated circuits. Manufacturing will commence in early 2023.

Continue the conversation with Guy Moxey and EPC CEO and Co-Founder Alex Lidow as they explore how GaN and Wolfspeed Silicon Carbide are changing the way we live, and where the future of these technologies could take us.

Wolfspeed
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In this interview from electronica 2022, Alex Lidow talks about technology during these 50 years of EE Times, the next challenges for our industry, and the growth of GaN. “Below 650 volts, where the MOSFET is dominant that will be written over by GaN”.

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Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) introduces the 80 V, 4 mOhm EPC2619 GaN FET in tiny 1.5 mm x 2.5 mm footprint, offering higher performance and smaller solution size than traditional MOSFETs for high power density applications, including DC-DC conversion, motor drives, and synchronous rectification for 12 V – 20 V.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— November 2022 — EPC, the world’s leader in enhancement-mode gallium nitride (GaN) power FETs and ICs, launches the 80 V, 4 mOhm EPC2619. This is the lead product for a new generation of eGaN devices that have double the power density compared to EPC’s prior-generation products.

GaN FETs help Solarnative achieve industry-leading power density for solar microinverters, enabling module frame integration to solve the challenges of solar power installation.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— November 2022 Solarnative uses GaN devices in its new microinverter to achieve industry-best power density.  The Power Stick is the smallest inverter in the world, with dimensions of 23.9 by 23,2 by 404 millimeters. With an AC output power of 350 W, the volume of 0.19 liters corresponds to a power density of 1.6 kW per liter. By comparison, the IQ 7A microinverter from a market leading supplier delivers 349 watts with a volume of 1.12 liters, corresponding to 0.31 kW per liter – not even one-fifth of the Solarnative device. Despite the extreme size reduction, the European efficiencies are quite comparable, at 96.0 percent for the Power Stick and 96.5 percent for the IQ 7A.

GaN devices have gone from initial R&D to mainstream designs over the last 15 years. Unfortunately, there are many misunderstandings left-over from those early-stage bipolar drive circuit developments or dead-end technology branches. One of the most pernicious is the topic of bipolar drive. In actuality, unipolar drives are the best way to drive eGaN^® FETs.

Power Electronics Tips
October, 2022
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Alex Lidow, former CEO of International Rectifier and CEO of Efficient Power Conversion, is one of the few individuals to have pioneered two revolutionary power semiconductor technologies – the silicon power MOSFET and the gallium nitride HEMT. How did he come to have these two unique opportunities?

elektroniknet.de
September, 2022
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One way to tell when a new technology has passed the tipping point of adoption is by the voices advocating the status quo. The more conservative voices tend to cite older information that, given the fast change of trajectory that occurs at a tipping point, can lead to poor decisions for new designs. In the world of GaN power devices the tipping point occurred in the past two years when the rate of new GaN-based designs started to double year-on-year, and the legacy MOSFET designs started to face critical supply shortages due to their finely tuned, but less flexible supply chains. GaN devices, on the other hand, have remained in stock at most major distributors due to their relatively new and flexible supply chains utilizing older silicon foundries, but affording these foundries a new and vibrant future. In this article we will address some of the common misconceptions still showing up in articles and at conferences, usually presented by advocates of the status quo.

Bodo’s Power Systems
May, 2022
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EPC9171 评估板可将90 V~265 V通用交流输入电压转换为可调 15 V至48 V直流输出电压。该参考设计可在 48 V 输出电压和 5 A 负载电流下，提供 240 W 的最大输出功率。

宜普电源转换公司（EPC）宣布推出EPC9171，可将90 V~265 V通用交流输入电压转换为15 V ~48 V直流输出电压，专为 USB PD3.1超快速充电器而设计。此参考设计可在 48 V 输出电压和 5 A 负载下，提供 240 W 最大输出功率。在初级侧和次级侧电路采用在高频率下开关的氮化镓功率器件，可实现约 1.1 W/cm³的功率密度。

我们将在本文讨论客户为何迟迟未采用氮化镓技术的一些最常见原因，氮化镓技术显然是较旧的硅基功率MOSFET的替代技术。在不深入研究详细的统计数据下，按最常发生推导出一系列原因，并理解某些应用比其他应用更侧重氮化镓技术的某些特性。我们的讨论仅限于额定电压低于400 V的器件，因为这是EPC公司的氮化镓场效应晶体管和集成电路的重点应用。

PSD功率系统设计
2022年3月
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The year 2021 was a transitional year in which the world decided to open its doors to GaN. In this interview with Power Electronics News during CES week, GaN industry experts confirmed that GaN is now proving its superiority over silicon.

Power Electronics News
January, 2022
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Mature, low-cost manufacturing and proven reliability spur use in EVs, smartphones, and consumer electronics.

Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) has logged more than 100 emerging applications for its eGaN FETs and ICs. Alex Lidow, the company’s CEO, said the five fastest-growing applications are lidar systems for robotics, drones, consumer products, driver alertness systems, and autonomous vehicles; DC-DC converters for AI systems, servers, and telecom power systems; motor drives for e-mobility and robotics; satellite systems, including motor drives and DC-DC power supplies that require radiation hardness; and solar power point trackers.

Semiconductor Engineering
December, 2021
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Today, the permanent magnet motor, also known as DC brushless motor (BLDC), is widely used and offers higher torque capability per cubic inch and higher dynamics when compared to other motors. So far, silicon-based power devices have been dominant in the inverter electronics, but today their performance is nearing their theoretical limits. There is an increasing need for higher power density. Gallium nitride (GaN) transistors and ICs have the best attributes to satisfy these needs.

Power Systems Design
November, 2021
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This month has been a busy one in the FET space. Here are a few FETs from EPC, UnitedSiC, and Intel that depart from traditional silicon transistors in interesting ways.

All About Circuits
October, 2021
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在过去十年中，计算机、显示器、智能手机和其他消费电子系统变得更薄，同时功能也变得更强大。因此，市场对具有更高功率密度的更纤薄电源解决方案的需求不断增加。本文研究了额定功率为 250 W且超薄的48 V / 20 V转换器，它可以采用各种非隔离型 DC/DC 降压拓扑的可行性。我们研究了各种非隔离型拓扑的优缺点，从而了解拓扑如何影响功率晶体管和磁性元件的选择，特别是电感器，因为这两个器件产生转换器的大部分损耗。本文还详细分析了为这些应用设计薄型电感器所面对的挑战，包括电感器损耗的因素、电感器尺寸和设计权衡，包括对 EMI 的影响。我们是以选择、构建和测试了超薄多电平转换器拓扑。从该转换器获得的实验结果，用于进一步优化操作设置和元件的选择，从而实现超过 98%的峰值效率。

EPC公司Michael de Rooij
Würth Elektronik 公司Quentin Laidebeur

IEEE Power Electronics Magazine
2021年９月
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