DrGaN^PLUS EPC9201 30 V, 40 A and EPC9203 80 V, 20 A evaluation boards demonstrate the extreme size reduction and efficiency enhancement for power conversion that can be achieved using high frequency switching eGaN^® power transistors.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— March 2015 — Providing an easy-to-use way for power systems designers to evaluate the exceptional performance of gallium nitride transistors and get their products into volume production quickly, Efficient Power Conversion Corporation (EPC) announces the expansion of its portfolio of DrGaN^PLUS evaluation boards. These boards are proof-of-concept designs that integrate all necessary components of a half-bridge circuit into a single, extremely small PCB-based module that can be readily mounted to demonstrate the excellent performance of a GaN transistor power conversion solution.

As an example of performance, the EPC9203, an 80 V, 20 A half-bridge power converter is a “plug and play” evaluation board that designers can use to quickly and easily evaluate the high performance gained with gallium nitride power transistors. This board, with V_IN = 48 V and V_OUT = 12 V, achieves greater than 97.5% peak total system efficiency, including power stage, inductor, driver, capacitors, and PCB losses.

Both boards operate in the same way and can be driven by either a single or a dual PWM input and feature eGaN FETs, the Texas Instrument’s LM5113 driver, and high frequency input capacitors. The DrGaN^PLUS board is small, only 11 mm x 12mm, and