eGaN FETs close the gap further on silicon MOSFETs

The EPC2215 and EPC2207 200V eGaN FETs  can be used for class D audio, solar maximum power point tracker (MPPTs), DC/DC converters (hard-switched and resonant), and multi-level high voltage converters.

They are also suitable for 48V out synchronous rectification, solar micro inverters and optimisers as well as multi-level, high voltage AC/DC converters.

The 8mΩ EPC2215 (162A pulsed) and the 22mΩ EPC2207 (54A pulsed) are approximately half the size of EPC’s prior generation of 200V eGaN devices. They double the performance of the earlier generation of eGaN FETs; compared with a benchmark silicon device, this performance gap is even higher, says the company.

RDS(on) for the EPC2215 is 33% lower in a package that is 15 times smaller in size. Its gate charge (QG) is 10 times smaller than the silicon MOSFET benchmark and, like all eGaN FETs, there is no reverse recovery charge (QRR). This enables lower distortion which is particularly useful for class D audio amplifiers as well as more efficient synchronous rectifiers and motor drives.

The performance comparison of benchmark silicon 200V FET versus 200V eGaN FETs is pictured here.

According to EPC’s co-founder and CEO, Alex Lidow, the latest generation of eGaN FETs achieve higher performance in a smaller, more thermally efficient size, and at a comparable cost to traditional MOSFETs, closing the gap further on the traditional devices.

To demonstrate the capabilities of eGaN FETs in demanding applications, the company collaborated with Semiconductor Power Electronics Center (SPEC) at the University of Texas in Austin. They developed a 400V, 2.5kW-capable eGaN FET-based four-level flying capacitor multi-level, bridgeless, totem-pole rectifier using the EPC2215. According to Professor Alex Huang, the data centre application illustrated “the advantageous characteristics of eGaN FETs allowed this converter to achieve high power density, ultra-high efficiency, and low harmonic distortion.”

Both the EPC2215 and the EOC2207 are available now. The company also offers development boards. The half bridge development board, the EPC9099, is based on the EPC215 and the EPC90124 half bridge development board for the EPC2207 are also available now. The FETs and development boards are available from Digi-Key.