eGaN FETs feature half the size and improved performance

Efficient Power Conversion advances the performance capability while lowering the cost of off-the-shelf gallium nitride transistors with the introduction of the EPC2045 (7 mΩ, 100 V) and the EPC2047 (10 mΩ, 200 V) eGaN FETs. Applications for the EPC2045 include single stage 48 V to load Open Rack server architectures, point-of-load converters, USB-C, and LiDAR. Applications for the 200 V EPC2047 include wireless charging, multi-level ac/dc power supplies, robotics, and solar micro inverters.

Widening the performance/cost gap with equivalent silicon power transistors, the 100 V, 7 mΩ EPC2045, cuts the die size in half compared to the prior-generation EPC2001C eGaN FET. The 200 V, 10 mΩ EPC2047 eGaN FET also cuts the size in half so that it is now about 15 times smaller than equivalently rated silicon MOSFETs. This means that designers don’t have to choose between size and performance. The chip-scale packaging of eGaN products handles thermal conditions far better than the plastic packaged MOSFETs since the heat is dissipated directly to the environment with chip-scale devices, whereas the heat from the MOSFET die is held within a plastic package.

• EPC9078 and EPC9080 support the 100 V EPC2045, whereas the EPC9081 features the 200 V EPC2047.

GaN process developments have significantly lower capacitance than their silicon counterparts. This translates into lower gate drive losses and lower device switching losses at higher frequencies for the same on-resistance and voltage rating. In the case of the EPC2045, a 30% reduction in power loss with a 2.5 percentage points better efficiency than the best comparable MOSFET was achieved in a 48 V to 5 V circuit operating at 500 kHz switching frequency.

The performance, size, and cost improvement evidenced in these new products were made possible by an innovative method of both reducing the electric fields in the drain region during breakdown, and significantly reducing the number of traps that could cause electrons to become inactive. 

  Low volume pricing for the EPC2045 100 V, 7 mΩ product at 1K units is $2.66 each, and low volume pricing for the EPC2047 200 V, 25 mΩ product at 1K units is $4.63 each.  The development boards are priced at $118.25 each.