EPC introduces the 80 V, AEC-Q101-qualified EPC2252 GaN FET, offering designers significantly smaller and more efficient solutions than silicon MOSFETs for automotive-grade lidar, 48 V – 12 V DC-DC conversion, and low inductance motor drives.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — January 2023 — Efficient Power Conversion Corporation, the world’s leader in enhancement-mode gallium nitride (eGaN^®) FETs and ICs, expands the selection of automotive, off-the-shelf gallium nitride transistors with the introduction of the 80 V, 11 mΩ EPC2252 that delivers 75 A pulsed current in a 1.5 mm x 1.5 mm footprint. The EPC2252 offers power system designers significantly smaller and more efficient devices than silicon MOSFETs for automotive-grade lidar found in autonomous driving and other ADAS applications, 48  V – 12 V DC-DC conversion, and low inductance motor drives.

EPC introduces two new 80 V AEC-Q101 qualified GaN FETs, offering designers significantly smaller and more efficient solutions than silicon MOSFETs for automotive 48 V- 12 V DC-DC conversion, infotainment, and lidar for autonomous driving.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — November 2022 — Efficient Power Conversion Corporation, the world’s leader in enhancement-mode gallium nitride (eGaN^®) FETs and ICs, expands the selection of automotive, off-the-shelf gallium nitride transistors with the introduction of 80 V, 6 mΩ EPC2204A that delivers 125 A pulsed current in a 2.5 mm x 1.5 mm footprint and the 80 V, 3.2 mΩ EPC2218A that delivers 231 A pulsed current is a 3.5 mm x 1.95 mm footprint, offering designers significantly smaller and more efficient devices than silicon MOSFETs for automotive DC-DC for 48V-12V conversion, infotainment, and lidar for autonomous driving.

EPC introduces the 40 V, 1.1 mΩ EPC2066 GaN FET, offering designers a significantly smaller and more efficient device than silicon MOSFETs for high-performance, space-constrained applications.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — May 2022 — Efficient Power Conversion Corporation, the world’s leader in enhancement-mode gallium nitride (eGaN^®) power FETs and ICs, expands the selection of low voltage, off-the-shelf gallium nitride transistors with the introduction of the EPC2066 (0.8 mΩ typical, 40 V) GaN FET. 

The EPC2050 from Efficient Power Conversion is an Enhancement Mode GaN Power Transistor. It has a drain-source voltage of over 350 V, a drain-source on-resistance of 55 milliohms, and a gate threshold voltage of 1.3 V.

everything PE
April, 2022
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The mainstream materials for wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductor power components are silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN). They become various power system applications' most-preferred devices today with the rising awareness of energy conservation and sustainability. This was the first time Tech Taipei 2022 Conference used WBG as its theme. Speakers from key players in the industry were invited from design, manufacturing and testing fields to share with over 400 participants at the conference their latest technology and application trends.

EE Times Taiwan
March 25, 2022
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As servers move to 48V, GaN transistors will beat today's silicon MOSFETs, leading to better performance and cost.

Data Center Dynamics
March, 2022
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The combination of the Renesas two-phase synchronous GaN boost controller with ultra-efficient eGaN^® FETs from EPC (Efficient Power Conversion) enables high power density and low-cost DC-DC conversion.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.—  January, 2022 — EPC announces the availability of the EPC9166, a 500 W DC-DC demo board that converts a 12 V input to 48 V output. The EPC9166 demo board demonstrates the Renesas ISL81807 80 V two-phase synchronous boost controller with the latest generation EPC2218 eGaN FETs from EPC to achieve greater than 96.5% efficiency in a 12 V input to 48 V regulated output conversion with 500 kHz switching frequency.  The output voltage can be configured to 36 V, 48 V, and 60 V. The board can deliver 480 W power without a heatsink.

Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) introduces the ePower Chipset family that integrates 100 V GaN driver and FETs up to 65 A offering higher performance and smaller solution size for high power density applications including DC-DC conversion and motor drives.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— December 2021 — EPC announces the introduction of a 100 V, 65 A integrated circuit chipset designed for 48 V DC-DC conversion used in high-density computing applications and in 48 V BLDC motor drives for e-mobility, robotics, and drones.

The design of an LLC resonant converter illustrates how eGaN FETs can shrink the physical size of modern supply circuitry.

Power Electronic Tips
October, 2021
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Over the past decade computers, displays, smart phones and other consumer electronics systems have become thinner while also becoming more powerful. As a result, the market continues to increase its demand for thinner power supply solutions with greater power density. This article examines the feasibility of adopting various non-isolated dc-dc step-down topologies for an ultra-thin 48 V to 20 V rated to 250 W. It examines the pros and cons of various non-isolated topologies and how the topology impacts the choice of the power transistors and magnetics, specifically the inductors, as these two components account for the bulk of the losses in a converter. The article also undertakes a detailed analysis of the challenges to design thin inductors for these applications, including examining the factors that drive inductor losses, inductor size, and the design tradeoffs, including the impact on EMI. For this work, an ultrathin multilevel converter topology was selected, built, and tested. The experimental results obtained from this converter were used to further refine the operating setting and component selections that resulted in a peak efficiency exceeding 98%.

Michael de Rooij, EPC
Quentin Laidebeur, Würth Elektronik

IEEE Power Electronics Magazine
September, 2021
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These new generation eGaN^® FETs address the new needs of the eMobility, delivery and logistic robot, and drone markets for compact BLDC motor drives and cost-effective high-resolution Time of Flight.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— June, 2021 — EPC, the world’s leader in enhancement-mode gallium nitride on silicon (eGaN) power FETs and ICs, advances the performance capability while lowering the cost for off-the-shelf gallium nitride transistors with the introduction of EPC2065 and EPC2054

Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) introduces a new family of radiation-hardened (rad-hard) gallium nitride (GaN) products for power conversion solutions in critical spaceborne and other high reliability environments.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— June 2021 — EPC announces the introduction of a new family of radiation-hardened gallium nitride transistors and integrated circuits. With higher breakdown strength, faster switching speed, higher thermal conductivity and lower on-resistance, power devices based on GaN significantly outperform silicon-based devices. The lower resistance and gate charge enable faster power supply switching frequencies resulting in higher power densities, higher efficiencies, and more compact and lighter weight circuitry for critical spaceborne missions. Gallium nitride is also inherently radiation tolerant, making GaN-based devices a reliable, higher performing power transistor option for space applications.

Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) announces that the EPC2152 ePower™ Stage IC has received the 2020 Elektra Award for Semiconductor Product of the Year (Analogue).

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— March 2021 — EPC’s ePower™ stage, EPC2152 Integrated Circuit (IC), has been honored with an Elektra Award 2020 in the Semiconductor Product of the Year – Analogue category. The award presentation was announced on March 25^th during a virtual awards ceremony hosted by Electronics Weekly. These prestigious annual awards have been running for over 19 years to reward and recognize companies and individuals for their excellent performance, innovation, and contribution to the global electronics industry. Judging is carried out by an independently and unbiased, diverse, and knowledgeable panel of industry experts.

Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) expands AEC Q101 product family with the addition of the EPC2219, 65 V gallium nitride transistor with integrated reverse gate clamp diode optimized for high resolution lidar systems.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— March 2021 — EPC announces successful AEC Q101 qualification of the 65 V EPC2219 designed for lidar systems in the automotive industry and other harsh environments. 

The combination of the Renesas dual synchronous GaN buck controller and ultra-efficient eGaN^® FETs from EPC (Efficient Power Conversion) enables high power density and efficiency with the same BOM size and cost as silicon.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.—  February, 2021 — EPC announces the availability of the EPC9157, a 300 W DC-DC demo board in the tiny 1/16^th brick size, measuring just 33 mm x 22.9 mm x 9mm (1.3 x 0.9 x 0.35 in). The EPC9157 demo board integrates the Renesas ISL81806 80 V dual synchronous buck controller with the latest-generation EPC2218 eGaN FETs from EPC to achieve greater than 95% efficiency for 48 V input to 12 V regulated output conversion at 25 A.  

This article discusses how GaN-based solutions coupled with digital control increase efficiency, shrink the size, and reduce system costs for high density computing applications like ultra-thin laptops and high-end gaming systems. As computers, displays, smartphones and other consumer electronics systems become thinner and more powerful over the past decade, there is increasing demand for addressing the challenge of thinner solutions while extracting more power out of limited space. To address this challenge, the comparative advantages of various non-isolated DC-DC step-down topologies for ultra-thin 48 V – 20 V power solutions that are designed to fit inside a notebook computer or an ultra-thin display are examined.

Power Electronics News
January, 2021
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Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) publishes Phase-12 Reliability Report adding to the extensive knowledge found in their first eleven reports. With this report, EPC demonstrates field experience of 226 billion eGaN ^® device hours and a robustness capability unmatched by silicon power devices.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— January 2021 — EPC announces its Phase-12 Reliability Report, documenting the strategy used to achieve a remarkable field reliability record. eGaN devices have been in volume production for more than eleven years and have demonstrated very high reliability in over 226 billion hours of operation, most of which are in vehicles, LTE base stations, and satellites, to name just a few applications with rigorous operating conditions.

Gallium nitride (GaN) transistors have been in mass production for over 10 years. In their first few years of availability, the fast switching speed of the new devices – up to 10 times faster than the venerable Si MOSFET – was the main reason for designers to use GaN FETs. As the pricing of GaN devices normalized with the MOSFET, coupled with the expansion of a broad range of devices with different voltage ratings and power handling capabilities, much wider acceptance was realized in mainstream applications such as DC-DC converters for computers, motor drives for robots, and e-mobility bikes and scooters. The experience gained from the early adopters has led the way for later entrants into the GaN world get into production faster. This article is the first in a series of articles discussing three topics that can help power systems designers achieve the most out of their GaN-based designs at the lowest cost. The three topics are: (1) layout considerations; (2) thermal design for maximum power handling; and, (3) EMI reduction techniques for lowest cost.

Bodo’s Power Systems
January, 2021
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EPC introduces the 40 V, 3 milliohm EPC2055 eGaN^® FET, offering designers a device that is smaller, more efficient, and more reliable than currently available devices for high performance, space-constrained applications.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — December 2020 — Efficient Power Conversion Corporation, the world’s leader in enhancement-mode gallium nitride on silicon (eGaN) power FETs and ICs, advances the performance capability of low voltage, off-the-shelf gallium nitride transistors with the introduction of the EPC2055 (3 mΩ, 40 V) eGaN FET. 

The EPC2152 ePower™ Stage enables higher performance and smaller solution size for high power density, low-cost DC-DC conversion demonstrated in the EPC9151 power module.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— December, 2020 — EPC announces the availability of the EPC9151, a 300 W bidirectional DC-DC voltage regulator in the in the very small 16^th brick format which is just 33 mm x 22.9 mm (1.3 x 0.9 in). The EPC9151 power module features Microchip’s dsPIC33CK digital signal controller (DSC) with the EPC2152 ePower™ Stage integrated circuit from EPC to achieve greater than 95% efficiency in a 300 W 48 V to/from 12 V converter design.  Additional phases can be added to this scalable 2-phase design to further increase power.