Efficient Power Conversion Corp (EPC) of El Segundo, CA, USA, which makes enhancement-mode gallium nitride on silicon (eGaN) power field-effect transistors (FETs) for power management applications, has introduced the EPC2101, a 60V enhancement-mode monolithic GaN transistor half-bridge.
By integrating two eGaN power FETs into a single device, interconnect inductances and the interstitial space needed on the PCB are eliminated, halving the board area occupied by the transistors compared with a discrete solution. This increases both efficiency (especially at higher frequencies) and power density, while reducing assembly costs to the end-user’s power conversion system. The EPC2101 is suitable for high-frequency DC-DC conversion. For a complete buck converter, system efficiency approaches 87% at 14A, and over 82% at 30A when switching at 500kHz and converting from 28V to 1V.
Each device within the EPC2101 half-bridge component has a voltage rating of 60V. The upper FET has a typical RDS(on) of 8.4mΩ, and the lower FET has a typical RDS(on) of 2mΩ. The high-side FET is about a quarter the size of the low-side device to optimize efficient DC-DC conversion in buck converters with a high VIN/VOUT ratio. The EPC2101 comes in a chip-scale package for improved switching speed and thermal performance, and is only 6.05mm x 2.3mm for increased power density.
The EPC9037 development board is 2” x 1.5” and contains one EPC2101 integrated half-bridge component using the Texas Instruments LM5113 gate driver, supply and bypass capacitors. The board has been laid out for optimal switching performance and there are various probe points to facilitate simple waveform measurement and efficiency calculation.
The EPC2101 monolithic half-bridge price for 1000 units is $6.92 each. The EPC9037 development boards are priced at $137.75 each. Both are available from Digi-Key.
