EPC Technical Articles

GaN power finds its way, via AirFuel, into Dell’s Lattitude 7285

GaN power element technology has found its way into a major application in the industry with the release of the Dell Latitude computer using the AirFuel standard.

Planet Analog
July 19, 2017
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Facts Say About An Account from a Scientist: he saved the world's 15% energy consumption prior. Now, he discovers silicon's replacement material

This scientist got his Ph.D 40 years ago who saved the world's 15% energy consumption at one time. He is continuing his journey of innovations now in discovering silicon's replacement material for humankind.

My father always taught me that the true worth of an individual is measured based on their contribution to society. As I entered graduate school in 1975 I knew my passion was in the field of semiconductors, and I felt my best contribution to society would come from finding a successor to silicon. I did my graduate work in Gallium Arsenide, but realized by the time I received my PhD in 1977 that Gallium Arsenide’s prospects were limited as a semiconductor due to the basic materials properties, I went to work applying everything I learned to making better devices in silicon.

Fortune China
June 15, 2017
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Wireless Electronic Tabletop Could Mean Many Fewer Power Cords

Tech-sector veteran Alex Lidow is on a mission to end the reliance on power cords to operate your electronic devices.

Seeker
June 15, 2017
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GaN FETs Drive Fidelity and Efficiency in Class-D Audio Amplifiers

With the current maturity of Class-D audio amplifier architectures, amplifier fidelity and efficiency limitations are primarily at the device level. Silicon MOSFETs have been evolving for almost forty years, and their progress towards a perfect switch has slowed dramatically. There are some fundamental characteristics of MOSFETs that degrade sound quality and efficiency. In 2010, the enhancement mode Gallium nitride (GaN) power FET was introduced by Efficient Power Conversion (EPC), providing a large step towards the perfect switch.

Audio Engineering Society
May 11, 2017
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48V-to-1V Conversion - the Rebirth of Direct-to-Chip Power

During last week's PCIM Europe event in Nuremberg, Germany, direct 48V-to-1V power conversion architectures were a significant topic. “The use of GaN switches in 48V-to-1V direct dc-dc converters can improve system performance by 30%, compared with today’s best silicon-based designs,” commented Alex Lidow, CEO of Efficient Power Conversion.

PowerPulse
May 31, 2017
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This Wireless Desktop Could Foreshadow Our Future Without Cords

Wireless charging promises a cord-free future, one that offers freedom from being tethered to the end of a charging cable. One company might have its finger on the pulse for this wirelessly powered future. Alexander Lidow is the CEO and founder of Efficient Power Conversion, a company looking to expand upon its namesake. EPC most notably displays how it wants to revolutionize wireless charging with a seemingly simple desktop.

Interesting Engineering
May 23, 2017
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How2 Cut The Power Cord: Wireless Power Is Ready For Prime Time

Wireless charging is not a new topic—it has been talked about for quite a while. Unfortunately, it has not seen widespread consumer acceptance. But, with a recently developed innovative approach to the design of transmission coils, wireless power is ready for widespread application.

How2Power
May, 2017
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GaN-on-Silicon Power Devices: How to Dislodge Silicon-Based Power MOSFETs

Gallium nitride (GaN) power transistors designed for efficient power conversion have been in production for seven years. New markets, such as light detection and ranging, envelope tracking, and wireless charging, have emerged due to the superior switching speed of GaN. These markets have enabled GaN products to achieve significant volumes, low production costs, and an enviable reliability reputation. All of this provides adequate incentive for the more conservative design engineers in applications such as dc–dc converters, ac–dc converters, and automotive to start their evaluation process. So what are the remaining barriers to the conversion of the US$12 billion silicon power metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) market? In a word: confidence.

Alex Lidow
March, 2017
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Power chips, but not as we know them

Max Smolaks welcomes gallium nitride, a new material which will replace silicon in the power chain

For the past 35 years, most power supplies have relied on power MOSFETs (metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors) – voltage-controlled devices made of silicon that are used to switch and condition electricity.

Data Center Dynamics
April 19, 2017
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Podcast: Cut the Cord! - How GaN Enables the Wireless Home

I was led to believe we were heading for a wireless world but a look behind my TV tells a very different story when I see all those wires everywhere. Not to mention the increasing number of BRIDGES for IoT devices. We were hoping to talk about the wireless powered home and how GaN (gallium nitride) is making that possible! When it comes to gallium nitride, there is only one man to speak with, and he's truly changing the world at EPC. He first appeared on EP180 talking about Why Gallium Nitride Is About To Disrupt Silicon then returned on 203 The LIDAR Technology Behind An X-Ray Pill. But he has returned to today to talk about how it can wireless charge anything, and it will blow your mind. Dr. Alex Lidow, is the CEO and co-founder of Efficient Power Conversion and he is going to talk about how tech will make power cords disappear and how EPC is leading the charge in the wireless space.

The Tech Blog Writer Podcast
April 14, 2017
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GaN applications: The next step in power management growth

See some of the GaN applications demonstrated by Efficient Power Conversion Corporation at APEC 2017.

EDN Network
April 3, 2017
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APEC 2017: GaN Technology Poised to Change the Way We Live

At APEC 2017, Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) showcased applications using eGaN technology in an effort to prove that it will soon change the way we live.

Electronics360
March 29, 2017
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The self-driving technology that will decide the race for autonomous cars

Alex Lidow, CEO of Efficient Power Conversion (EPC), assesses where the driverless vehicle sector is headed and the technologies which will help it realize its potential…

The Stack
March 17, 2017
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How GaN Power Transistors Drive High-Performance Lidar: Generating ultrafast pulsed power with GaN FETs

Light detection and ranging (lidar) is a versatile light-based remote sensing technology that recently has been the subject of great attention. It has shown up in a number of media venues and has even led to public debate about the engineering choices of a well-known electric car company, Tesla Motors. While this article is not going to enter the fray, it will provide some background on lidar and discuss its strong connection to power electronics technologies.

Published in: IEEE Power Electronics Magazine ( Volume: 4, Issue: 1, March 2017 )
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EPC eGaN moves closer to the ideal capabilities of the power element

Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) has dealt another blow to the silicon MOSFET power element with its Generation 5 (Gen5) process enhancements, bringing improved performance while decreasing the cost of off-the-shelf Gallium Nitride transistors and shrinking their die size and board footprint.

Alex Lidow, EPC’s CEO/co-founder, and his team have once again put their expertise to work in their efforts to provide designers these unique power solution choices for new markets that need performance beyond what silicon devices have been able to provide. The team’s technical capabilities and in-depth understanding, even into the quantum mechanics of the process, are enabling both better performance as well as shrinking the size and cost of their solutions

EDN
March 15, 2017
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Gallium Nitride maker EPC takes a big step forward in its quest to kill silicon chips

The $330 billion silicon chip industry is the foundation of everything electronic. But it’s slowing down as it reaches a new level of maturity that is prompting a bunch of mergers and acquisitions.

That’s why Alex Lidow, an industry pioneer and the chief proponent of an alternative material to silicon — gallium nitride (GaN) — feels like his time has come. His company, Efficient Power Conversion (EPC), is unveiling a new generation of eGaN chips that are half the size of previous chips and have significantly higher performance.

VentureBeat
March 15, 2017
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How we devised a wirelessly powered television set

Televisions can get their content wirelessly, but there is one set of wires they still need: those in their power cord. The consumer electronics industry has floated ideas for freeing TVs from their power cords, but this goal remains elusive. There are several reasons, such as the difficultly of meeting high-power requirements for large-screen TVs and the need for identifying an economical technology. Nevertheless, eGaN FETs could play a role in making TVs truly cordless devices.

Power Electronic Tips
February, 23, 2017
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GaN is Eyeing Silicon’s Data Center Lunch

As deep learning proliferates, the question of data center power density is once again on the rise, creating new business opportunities for specialized cloud services, hosted in facilities that can support north of 30 kW per rack, and companies in the power conversion space, who can tackle the density issue by making systems more energy efficient. Replacing silicon as the semiconductor material in power conversion chips with gallium nitrate, or GaN, leads to much smaller and more energy efficient devices that provide much faster switching.

Data Center Knowledge
February, 2017
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Wireless power challenges and opportunities

Wireless power transfer (WPT) technology is destined, in the very near future, to rock the electrics and electrical world we live in. Eric Giler, now president of WiTricity, an MIT spinoff, gave an excellent TED presentation in 2009 entitled, "A demo of wireless electricity." In this demonstration, Giler powered a small TV via wireless power transfer—that was 2009. We have come a long way since then; please read on for a technical glimpse into this amazing field (pun intended) of opportunity for designers.

EDN Network
January 26, 2017
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Podcast: Bloomberg Radio Interview with Alex Lidow at CES 2017

EPC CEO and Co-Founder, Alex Lidow, discusses the life changing applications on display at CES with Bloomberg Radio. Applications such as LiDAR for autonomous cars with the potential to disrupt the transportation industry and wireless power with the potential to eliminate power cords are highlighted as well as how GaN enables these new technologies.

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Bloomberg
January, 2017

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