In this episode of The EEcosystem Podcast, our guest is Dr. Alex Lidow, CEO and co-founder of Efficient Power Conversion. In this episode, we will find out more about Alex and learn about MOSFETs and the rise of GaN. How did MOSFETs grow so quickly? What technologies are driving GaN adoptions and why. We will also discuss the potential obstacles to GaN adoption. This and many more questions will be answered as we go along! Listen to this episode to learn more!

April, 2023
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Since the launch of GaN-on-Si enhancement mode power transistors in March 2010 there has been a slow but monotonic shift towards adoption and replacement of silicon-based power MOSFETs. Initial adoption came from risk-taker visionaries in applications such as lidar, high-end audio amplifiers, robots, vehicle headlamps, and high-performance DC-DC converters. For the expansion of GaN for power conversion to get beyond the early adopters, a more user-friendly format than the WLCP needed to be developed. This format, however, needed to preserve the key attributes of small size, low RDS(on), high speed, excellent thermal conductivity, and low cost. In other words, the best package would be the least amount of package technically possible. Enter the PQFN…

Bodo’s Power Systems
March, 2023
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Five times smaller than an equivalent silicon MOSFET and twice as powerful as the previous generation of eGaN devices is the new sixth generation of devices introduced by Efficient Power Conversion (EPC). We asked CEO Alex Lidow in the video.

Electroniknet.de
November 29, 2022
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EPC推出80 V、通過AEC-Q101 認證的氮化鎵場效應電晶體（GaN FET）EPC2252，為設計人員提供比矽MOSFET更小和更高效的解決方案，用於車規級光達、48 V/12 V DC/DC轉換和低電感馬達控制器。

作為增强型氮化鎵 (eGaN^®)FET和IC的全球領導者，宜普電源轉換公司（EPC）進一步擴大已有現貨供應的車規級氮化鎵電晶體系列，推出80 V、11 mΩ、在 1.5 mm x 1.5 mm封裝內提供75 A脉衝電流的EPC2252，比矽MOSFET更小和更高效，適用於自動駕駛和其他先進駕駛輔助系統應用中的車規級光達、48 V/12 V DC/DC轉換和低電感馬達控制器。

Power-conversion technologies are experiencing the first tectonic shift since the move from bipolar to MOS. That shift, of course, is due to the viral adoption of wide-bandgap power devices. At this point, GaN is more than a specialty technology; it is a broad-scale replacement for silicon MOSFETs in applications ranging from 30 V up to 650 V — a multibillion-dollar market.

Power Electronics News
December, 2022
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宜普電源轉換公司（EPC） 與世界先進積體電路股份有限公司（VIS） 攜手合作生產八吋氮化鎵晶圓，透過VIS高品質的製造能力，進一步强化EPC在氮化鎵功率轉換市場的領導地位。

發佈單位：宜普電源轉換公司、世界先進公司

發佈日期：111年12月6日

Continue the conversation with Guy Moxey and EPC CEO and Co-Founder Alex Lidow as they explore how GaN and Wolfspeed Silicon Carbide are changing the way we live, and where the future of these technologies could take us.

Wolfspeed
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In this interview from electronica 2022, Alex Lidow talks about technology during these 50 years of EE Times, the next challenges for our industry, and the growth of GaN. “Below 650 volts, where the MOSFET is dominant that will be written over by GaN”.

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Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) introduces the 80 V, 4 mOhm EPC2619 GaN FET in tiny 1.5 mm x 2.5 mm footprint, offering higher performance and smaller solution size than traditional MOSFETs for high power density applications, including DC-DC conversion, motor drives, and synchronous rectification for 12 V – 20 V.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— November 2022 — EPC, the world’s leader in enhancement-mode gallium nitride (GaN) power FETs and ICs, launches the 80 V, 4 mOhm EPC2619. This is the lead product for a new generation of eGaN devices that have double the power density compared to EPC’s prior-generation products.

GaN FETs help Solarnative achieve industry-leading power density for solar microinverters, enabling module frame integration to solve the challenges of solar power installation.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— November 2022 Solarnative uses GaN devices in its new microinverter to achieve industry-best power density.  The Power Stick is the smallest inverter in the world, with dimensions of 23.9 by 23,2 by 404 millimeters. With an AC output power of 350 W, the volume of 0.19 liters corresponds to a power density of 1.6 kW per liter. By comparison, the IQ 7A microinverter from a market leading supplier delivers 349 watts with a volume of 1.12 liters, corresponding to 0.31 kW per liter – not even one-fifth of the Solarnative device. Despite the extreme size reduction, the European efficiencies are quite comparable, at 96.0 percent for the Power Stick and 96.5 percent for the IQ 7A.

GaN devices have gone from initial R&D to mainstream designs over the last 15 years. Unfortunately, there are many misunderstandings left-over from those early-stage bipolar drive circuit developments or dead-end technology branches. One of the most pernicious is the topic of bipolar drive. In actuality, unipolar drives are the best way to drive eGaN^® FETs.

Power Electronics Tips
October, 2022
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Alex Lidow, former CEO of International Rectifier and CEO of Efficient Power Conversion, is one of the few individuals to have pioneered two revolutionary power semiconductor technologies – the silicon power MOSFET and the gallium nitride HEMT. How did he come to have these two unique opportunities?

elektroniknet.de
September, 2022
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One way to tell when a new technology has passed the tipping point of adoption is by the voices advocating the status quo. The more conservative voices tend to cite older information that, given the fast change of trajectory that occurs at a tipping point, can lead to poor decisions for new designs. In the world of GaN power devices the tipping point occurred in the past two years when the rate of new GaN-based designs started to double year-on-year, and the legacy MOSFET designs started to face critical supply shortages due to their finely tuned, but less flexible supply chains. GaN devices, on the other hand, have remained in stock at most major distributors due to their relatively new and flexible supply chains utilizing older silicon foundries, but affording these foundries a new and vibrant future. In this article we will address some of the common misconceptions still showing up in articles and at conferences, usually presented by advocates of the status quo.

Bodo’s Power Systems
May, 2022
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EPC9171 評估板可將 90 V~265 V通用交流輸入電壓轉換為可調15 V~48 V直流輸出電壓。該參考設計可在 48 V 輸出電壓和 5 A 負載電流下，提供 240 W 的最大輸出功率。

宜普電源轉換公司（EPC）宣佈推出EPC9171，可將 90 V~265 V通用交流輸入電壓轉換為15 V~48 V直流輸出電壓，專為USB PD3.1超快速充電器而設計。此參考設計可在 48 V 輸出電壓和 5 A 負載下，提供 240 W 最大輸出功率。在初級側和次級側電路採用在高頻率下開關的氮化鎵功率元件，可實現約1.1 W/cm³的功率密度。

我們將在本文討論客戶爲何遲遲未採用氮化鎵技術的一些最常見原因，氮化鎵技術顯然是較舊的矽基功率MOSFET的替代技術。在不深入詳細研究統計數據的情况下，按最常發生推導出一系列原因，並理解某些應用比其他應用更側重氮化鎵技術的某些特性。我們的討論僅限於額定電壓低於400 V的元件，因爲這是EPC公司的氮化鎵場效應電晶體和積體電路的重點應用。

PSD功率系統設計
2022 年3月
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The year 2021 was a transitional year in which the world decided to open its doors to GaN. In this interview with Power Electronics News during CES week, GaN industry experts confirmed that GaN is now proving its superiority over silicon.

Power Electronics News
January, 2022
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Mature, low-cost manufacturing and proven reliability spur use in EVs, smartphones, and consumer electronics.

Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) has logged more than 100 emerging applications for its eGaN FETs and ICs. Alex Lidow, the company’s CEO, said the five fastest-growing applications are lidar systems for robotics, drones, consumer products, driver alertness systems, and autonomous vehicles; DC-DC converters for AI systems, servers, and telecom power systems; motor drives for e-mobility and robotics; satellite systems, including motor drives and DC-DC power supplies that require radiation hardness; and solar power point trackers.

Semiconductor Engineering
December, 2021
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Today, the permanent magnet motor, also known as DC brushless motor (BLDC), is widely used and offers higher torque capability per cubic inch and higher dynamics when compared to other motors. So far, silicon-based power devices have been dominant in the inverter electronics, but today their performance is nearing their theoretical limits. There is an increasing need for higher power density. Gallium nitride (GaN) transistors and ICs have the best attributes to satisfy these needs.

Power Systems Design
November, 2021
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This month has been a busy one in the FET space. Here are a few FETs from EPC, UnitedSiC, and Intel that depart from traditional silicon transistors in interesting ways.

All About Circuits
October, 2021
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在過去十年中，計算機、顯示器、智能手機和其他消費電子系統變得更薄，同時功能也變得更强大。因此，市場對具有更高功率密度的更薄電源解决方案的需求不斷增加。本文研究了額定功率爲 250 W、超薄的48 V / 20 V轉換器，它可以採用各種非隔離型 DC/DC 降壓拓撲的可行性。我們研究了各種非隔離型拓撲的優缺點，從而瞭解拓撲如何影響功率電晶體和磁性元件的選擇，特別是電感器，因爲這兩個元件產生轉換器的大部分損耗。本文還詳細分析了爲這些應用設計薄型電感器所面對的挑戰，包括電感器損耗的因素、電感器尺寸和設計權衡，包括對EMI的影響。我們是以選擇、構建和測試了超薄多電平轉換器拓撲。從該轉換器獲得的實驗結果，用於進一步優化操作設置和元件的選擇，從而實現超過98%的峰值效率。

EPC公司Michael de Rooij
Würth Elektronik 公司Quentin Laidebeur

IEEE Power Electronics Magazine
2021年９月
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