GaN-based, 15 MHz half-bridge development boards
Efficient Power Conversion’s (EPC) EPC9066, EPC9067, and EPC9068 development boards are configurable as a buck converter or as a ZVS class-D amplifier. These boards provide an easy-to-use way for power systems designers to evaluate the performance of gallium nitride transistors, enabling the designers to get their products into volume production quickly. All three boards feature a zero reverse recovery (QRR) synchronous bootstrap rectifier augmented gate driver to increase efficiency at high frequency operation, up to 15 MHz. The boards can produce a maximum output of 2.7A in the buck and ZVS class-D amplifier configurations. Loss reduction is realised across the entire current range.
The EPC9066/67/68 feature 40V, 65V, and 100V-rated eGaN FETs respectively. These boards are 2 x 1.5 in. (appx 5 x 4 cm) and are laid out in a half-bridge configuration. Each board uses the Texas Instruments LM5113 gate driver with supply and bypass capacitors. The gate driver has been configured with a synchronous FET bootstrap circuit featuring the 100V, 2800 mΩ EPC2038 eGaN FET, which eliminates the driver losses induced by the reverse recovery of the internal bootstrap diode. The boards have various probe points and Kelvin measurement points for DC input and output. In addition, the boards provide the capability to install a heat sink for high power operation.
The operating load conditions, including configuration, of the development board determine the optimal design load voltage and resistance, resulting in a specific board’s performance. The device parameters for each board are given in the following table:
|
Demonstration Board |
Featured eGaN FET |
FET |
FET |
Bootstrap FET |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
VDS (max) |
RDS(on) (max) |
||||
|
40 V |
110 mΩ |
100 V |
2800 mΩ |
||
|
65 V |
130 mΩ |
100 V |
2800 mΩ |
||
|
100 V |
160 mΩ |
100 V |
2800 mΩ |
||
Quick Start Guides, containing set-up procedures, circuit diagram, bill of material and Gerber files for the boards are provided on-line at https://epc-co.com/epc/Products/DemoBoards.aspx
EPC9066/9067/9068 are priced at $158.13 each and are available from Digi-Key at www.digikey.com/Suppliers/us/Efficient-Power-Conversion.page?lang=en
EPC; www.epc-co.com
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