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

EDN Network
April 3, 2017
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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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Adding to its breadth of applications research and support for EPC customer evaluation and use of GaN^® FETs and ICs, the company announces the opening of an applications center and the appointment of Suvankar Biswas, Ph.D. as senior applications engineer.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— January 2017 — Efficient Power Conversion Corporation (EPC) is proud to announce the opening of an Applications Center in Blacksburg, Virginia.  This center will increase the reach of EPC to support research and development for the applications of enhancement-mode gallium nitride transistors and ICs.  In addition to traditional FET and IC power conversion applications, GaN technology has enabled emerging applications such as wireless power transfer, LiDAR for autonomous vehicles, and envelope tracking for high bandwidth 4G and 5G communications.

Gallium Nitride ICs: Increasing server power efficiencies - Reducing waste power, cooling, and space aren't just data-center-size concerns; they're also battles fought inside the confines of each rack. And, sometimes, even one small change can make a big difference.

TechBeacon
August 2, 2016
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In this PSDcast Alex Lidow, CEO and Co-founder of Efficient Power Conversion, talks to Alix Paultre of Power Systems Design about the state of GaN development. Now that the industry has finally embraced what GaN can do with multiple vendors and solutions, we are now seeing real design-ins and products based on GaN power devices.

Power Systems Design
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In this slidecast, Alexander Lidow from EPC describes how the company is leading a technological revolution with Gallium Nitride (GaN). More efficient than silicon as a basis for electronics, GaN could save huge amounts of energy in the datacenter and has the potential to fuel the computer industry beyond Moore’s Law.

insideHPC
July 20, 2016
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Produced by industry experts, Efficient Power Conversion has posted six videos showing active end-use applications such as wireless power transfer, single-stage 48 V – 1 V DC-DC conversion, and envelope tracking for 4G/LTE base stations using gallium nitride transistors and integrated circuits.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – April 2016 - Efficient Power Conversion Corporation (www.epc-co.com) has created and posted to its website six short videos presenting end-customer applications using eGaN® FETs and ICs. The videos show how GaN technology is changing the way we live and challenge power systems design engineers to incorporate the high performance of gallium nitride FETs and ICs into their next generation power system designs.

The demand for information in our society is growing at an unprecedented rate. With emerging technologies, such as cloud computing and the Internet of Things, this trend for more and faster access to information is showing no signs of slowing. What makes the transfer of information at high rates of speed possible are racks and racks of servers, mostly located in centralized data.

EEWeb
Alex Lidow, Ph.D., David Reusch, Ph.D., and John Glaser, Ph.D.
March, 2016
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Silicon, the stuff upon which the Valley was built, is maxing out. The future, according to some, belongs to gallium nitride. What is it, and what does it mean?

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The cost of electrical power is a key driver of socioeconomic vitality, as it enables us to improve our quality of life and advance new applications and industries. GaN (gallium nitride) has emerged as a displacement technology to the venerable, but aged, silicon solutions that will allow us to stay ahead of our demand for more and more efficient power.

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The proliferation of wireless power products and multitude of wireless power standards for mobile applications is leading to consumer confusion and hindering adoption. This article discuss a multi-mode capable amplifier topology capable of operation at both high (6.78 MHz) and low (100 kHz – 315 kHz) frequencies.

By: Michael de Rooij, Ph.D.
EEWeb – Wireless & RF Magazine
August, 2015
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A new product being developed might make checking for colon cancer as easy as swallowing a pill. The technology is based on a new type of chip from EPC that uses gallium nitride instead of the traditional silicon. CEO Alex Lidow told Quartz that his company’s chips can withstand the high voltage needed by the sensors inside the Check Cap.

Quartz
July 30, 2015
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This column evaluated the ability to parallel eGaN^® FETs for higher output current applications by addressing the challenges facing paralleling high speed, low parasitic devices, and demonstrated an improved paralleling technique. For experimental verification of this design method, four parallel half bridges in an optimized layout were operated as a 48 V to 12 V, 480 W, 300 kHz, 40 A buck converter, and achieved efficiencies above 96.5%, from 35% to 100% load. The design method achieved superior electrical and thermal performance compared to conventional paralleling methods and demonstrated that high speed GaN devices can be effectively paralleled for higher current operation.

EEWeb
By: Alex Lidow
April, 2014

Alex Lidow, EPC's CEO, is interviewed by Don Tuite, editor of Electronic Design, about EPC's new and novel applications for its eGaN FET.

Electronic Design
March, 2014
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EPC's Michael de Rooij presenting the Wireless Power Transfer demonstration for Alix Paultre, editor, Power Systems Design magazine.

Power Systems Design
March, 2014
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The quality of sound reproduced by an audio amplifier, measured by critical performance parameters such as THD (Total Harmonic Distortion), damping factor (DF), and T-IMD (Inter-modulation Distortion), is influenced by the characteristics of the switching transistors used. Class-D audio amplifiers typically use power MOSFETs, however, lower conduction losses, faster switching speed, and zero reverse recovery losses provided by enhancement-mode GaN (eGaN) FETs enable a significant increase in the sonic quality, and higher efficiency that can eliminate heatsinks. The result is a system with better sound quality in a smaller form factor that can be built at a lower cost.

EEWeb
By: Alex Lidow
February, 2014

Enhancement-mode gallium nitride transistors have been commercially available for over four years and have infiltrated many applications previously monopolized by the aging silicon power MOSFET. There are many benefits derived from the latest generation eGaN® FETs in new emerging applications such as highly resonant wireless power transfer, RF envelope tracking, and class-D audio. This article will examine the rapidly evolving trend of conversion from power MOSFETs to gallium nitride transistors in these new applications.

Power Pulse
By: Alex Lidow
February, 2014

A highly resonant, loosely coupled, 6.78 MHz ISM band wireless power transfer will be presented that show how eGaN FETs are enabling this technology. This column will show efficient wireless energy transfer using current eGaN FETs, and present examples of a voltage mode class D and class E approach.

EEWeb
By: Alex Lidow
January, 2014

Enhancement mode gallium nitride transistors have been commercially available for over four years and have infiltrated many applications previously monopolized by the aging silicon power MOSFET.

Power Pulse
By: Alex Lidow
October, 2013