EPC and Analog Devices introduce a reference design using a new Analog controller fully optimized to drive EPC GaN FETs and achieving greater than 96.5% efficiency.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— July, 2022 — EPC announces the availability of the EPC9158, a dual output synchronous buck converter reference design board operating at 500 kHz switching frequency that converts an input voltage of 48 V - 54 V to a regulated 12 V output and delivers up to 25 A per phase or 50 A total continuous current. The combination of the new Analog LTC7890 synchronous GaN buck controller with ultra-efficient GaN FETs from EPC enables a highly efficient solution in a small footprint for high power density applications. The solution achieves 96.5% efficient at 48 V to 12 V and 50 A continuous current.

Automotive 48 V/12 V converters are essential in modern hybrid electric vehicles, as the energy is exchanged between the 48 V and 12 V buses. This two-voltage system accommodates legacy 12 V systems and provides higher power for 48V to loads such as vacuum and water pumps, electric super chargers, steering, and audio systems. Among all the requirements for the 48 V/12 V converter, efficiency, power density, size and cost are on the top of the list. This article addresses these design criteria by employing the GaN ePower™ Stage, EPC23101, and compares it with a previous design using discrete EPC2206 devices.

Bodo’s Power Systems
March, 2022
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This article presents the design and performance of an automotive buck/reverse-boost converter with GaN for efficient 48 V power distribution.

Electronics Today
December/January Edition
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Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) provides engineers with a growing array of design tools, models, and performance simulations for high performance GaN-based designs.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.—  January, 2022 — EPC announces the debut of the GaN Power Bench™, a suite of design tools to assist engineers in getting the optimal performance from their GaN-based designs. eGaN^® FETs and ICs provide the fast switching, high efficiency and small size that can meet the stringent power density requirements of today’s leading-edge applications. The tools in the GaN Power Bench assist designers in the selection of the best GaN device for the application, simulate and optimize the thermal performance of the design, and provide application examples with all the supporting documentation needed to quickly and easily replicate the optimal design tips necessary for ideal performance.

EPC's chief executive, Alex Lidow, believes his GaN devices now beat silicon on performance and price, reports Rebecca Pool.

For EPC chief executive, Alex Lidow, this year's PCIM Europe 2019 has been all about applications. Presenting myriad enhanced-mode GaN FETs and ICs in end-products, the company is making a big play for 48 V DC-DC power conversion in advanced computing and automotives.

Compound Semiconductor
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The increase in switching speed offered by GaN transistors requires good measurement technology, as well as good techniques to capture important details of high-speed waveforms. This article focuses on how to leverage the measurement equipment for the user’s requirement and measurement techniques to accurately evaluate high performance GaN transistors. The article also evaluates high bandwidth differential probes for use with non-ground-referenced waveforms.

EDN Network
By Suvankar Biswas , David Reusch & Michael de Rooij
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EPC’s new development boards can be configured as either a buck converter or a ZVS class-D amplifier, demonstrating reduced losses at high frequency using an eGaN FET synchronous bootstrap augmented gate drive.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— March 2016 — Efficient Power Conversion Corporation (EPC) Introduces the EPC9066, EPC9067, and EPC9068 development boards, which are configurable to a buck converter or as a ZVS class-D amplifier. These boards provide an easy-to-use way for power systems designers to evaluate the exceptional performance of gallium nitride transistors, enabling the designers to get their products into volume production quickly. All three boards feature a zero reverse recovery (Q_RR) synchronous bootstrap rectifier augmented gate driver to increase efficiency at high frequency operation, up to 15 MHz. The boards can produce a maximum output of 2.7 A in the buck and ZVS class-D amplifier configurations. Loss reduction is realized across the entire current range.

EPC9118 demonstrates size reduction and efficiency enhancement for power conversion readily achieved using high frequency switching eGaN^® FETs for supply voltages up to 48 V or more.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.—October 2014 — Efficient Power Conversion Corporation (EPC) introduces the EPC9118, a fully functional buck power conversion demonstration circuit. This board is a 30 V-60 V input to 5 V, 20 A maximum output current, 400 kHz buck converter. It features the EPC2001 and EPC2015 enhancement-mode (eGaN^®) field effect transistors (FETs), as well as the LTC3891 buck controller. This buck converter design is ideal for distributed power solutions in telecom, industrial, and medical applications.

In this installment the optimum layout will be implemented in a high frequency buck converter yielding greater than 96% efficiency switching at 1 MHz.

EEWeb
By: Alex Lidow
September, 2013

EPC9107 demonstrates size reduction and efficiency enhancement for power conversion achieved using high frequency switching eGaN power transistors

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.—June, 2013 — Efficient Power Conversion Corporation (EPC) introduces the EPC9107, a fully functional buck power conversion demonstration circuit.  This board is a 9 V-28 V input to 3.3 V, 15 A maximum output current, 1MHz buck converter.  It uses the EPC2015< eGaN FET in conjunction with the LM5113 100V half-bridge gate driver from Texas Instruments. The EPC9107 demonstrates the reduced size and performance capabilities of high switching frequency eGaN FETs when coupled with this dedicated eGaN driver.

The EPC9107 demonstration board is 3” square and contains a fully closed-loop buck converter with optimized control loop. The complete power stage including eGaN FETs, driver, inductor and input/output caps is in an ultra compact 0.5” x 0.5” layout to showcase the performance that can be achieved using the eGaN FETs with the LM5113 eGaN driver.

eGaN FETs differ from silicon MOSFETs in part because of their significantly faster switching speeds. In the second article of this series, we explore the different requirements for gate drive, layout, and thermal management.

By Johan Strydom PHD, Director of Application Engineering, EPC
Power Electronics Technology
January 1, 2011

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