Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) Expands Family of Plug and Play DrGaNPLUS Evaluation Boards – High Power Converters in a Small Footprint
March 17, 2015 | By Business Wire News
EL SEGUNDO, Calif.
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 DrGaNPLUSevaluation 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.
| Part | V(DS) | I(D) A | ||||||||||
| Number | (max) | (max RMS) | Featured eGaN(®) FETs | |||||||||
| 30 | 40 | EPC2015C/EPC2023 | ||||||||||
| 80 | 20 | EPC2021 | ||||||||||
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 Vin = 48 V and Vout = 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 DrGaNPLUS board is small, only 11 mmx 12mm,and can mount directly onto a printed circuit board. It has been designed with an optimal layout to minimize the debilitating effects of common source and high frequency power commutation loop inductances.
| Features | Benefits | |||
|
• EPC9201: 92% peak efficiency |
• Increased power density |
|||
|
(VIN = 12 V to VOUT = 1 V) |
||||
|
• EPC9203: > 97% peak efficiency |
||||
|
(VIN = 48 V to VOUT = 12 V) |
||||
|
• All necessary components and |
• Easy evaluation for faster time to market |
|||
| optimal layout techniques | ||||
|
• Easy mount PC board with single |
• Plug-and-Play assembly |
|||
| PWM input | ||||
|
• High frequency eGaN FETs |
• Lower system size and cost |
|||
“In addition to improved performance, lower cost and reliability, ease-of-use is a critical factor in the adoption of a new technology. With DrGaNPLUS evaluation boards, power conversion systems design engineers have a quick and easy way of assessing the exceptional benefits of incorporating gallium nitride transistors into their power systems circuits,” noted Alex Lidow, CEO and co-founder of EPC.
A Quick Start Guide, containing set-up procedures, circuit diagram, performance curves, a bill of material and Gerber files is provided on-line at http://epc-co.com/epc/Products/DemoBoards/DrGaNPLUS.aspx
Price and Availability
EPC9201 is priced at $44.99 each
EPC9203 is priced at $58.40 each
Both boards are available for immediate delivery from Digi-Key at http://www.digikey.com/Suppliers/us/Efficient-Power-Conversion.page?lang=en
About EPC
EPC is the leader in enhancement mode gallium nitride based power management devices. EPC was the first to introduce enhancement-mode gallium-nitride-on-silicon (eGaN) FETs as power MOSFET replacements in applications such as DC-DC converters, wireless power transfer, envelope tracking, RF transmission, power inverters, remote sensing technology (LiDAR), and class-D audio amplifiers with device performance many times greater than the best silicon power MOSFETs.
eGaN is a registered trademark of Efficient Power Conversion Corporation
Efficient Power Conversion Corporation
Joe Engle, 310-986-0350
joe.engle@epc-co.com
