GaN First Time Right™ Design Process
2. Select the Right GaN Device

Once you have identified a few devices that work for your application, you can evaluate how they will work in your thermal environment with the GaN FET Thermal Calculator. It allows the optimization of the thermal solution once the losses have been determined.

EPC’s GaN FETs and ICs are offered in chip-scale packaging (CSP) and Plastic Quad Flat No-Lead (PQFN) packaging. The choice between CSP and PQFN depends on the specific requirements of the application. CSP is well-suited for size-constrained, high-power density applications. PQFN packages offer a balance between high performance and ease of manufacturing.

Benefits of Chip-Scale Packaging

• Size and space efficiency
• Lower parasitic capacitance and inductance
• Efficient heat dissipation from all sides of the chip
• Assembling eGaN FETs and Integrated Circuits

Benefits of Plastic Quad Flat No-Lead

• Simple manufacturing
• Low thermal resistance
• Footprint compatibility
• Solder Stencil Design Guidelines for Reliable Assembly of PQFN GaN Devices

Product reliability is a critical consideration when selecting the right device.  eGaN^® devices have been in volume production since March 2010 and have demonstrated very high reliability in both laboratory testing and high-volume customer applications with a remarkable field reliability record.

EPC has an extensive test-to-fail reliability program and regularly publishes the results of these studies.  For the latest reliability reports please visit the reliability resources page.

Key Reliability Topics Covered:

• Physics-based lifetime models for gate stress and drain stress
• Safe operating area
• Short-circuit robustness
• Mechanical stress
• Thermo-mechanical stress
• Test-to-fail methodology to accurately predict application-specific device lifetime