EPC demo board boasts best-in-class power density in compact design

Article By : Efficient Power Conversion Corp.

Featuring EPC's GaN FETs, the EPC9149 LLC converter operates as a DC transformer with a conversion ratio of 4:1 and boasts a high-power density of 1,226W/in3.

Efficient Power Conversion Corp. (EPC) has launched the EPC9149, a 1kW-capable 48V input to 12V output LLC converter that operates as a DC transformer with a conversion ratio of 4:1. This demonstration board features the 100V EPC2218 and 40V EPC2024 GaN FETs.

Available in DOSA-standard ⅛th brick format, the board measures only 58.4-by-22.9mm—smaller than alternative silicon-based solutions that are generally sized in the ¼th brick format, or twice as large, for 1kW of output power. The total thickness of the converter without heatsink is only 10mm. To make it simple for a power supply designer to easily replicate this design, all supporting materials for this board including schematic, bills of materials, and Gerber files are available on the EPC website.

The high-power density, 1,226W/in3, is achieved thanks to EPC GaN FET technology. eGaN FETs enable high switching frequency, in this case 1MHz, and they are very small, ⅓ of the size of silicon MOSFETs with similar on resistance. The EPC9149 board features four 100V rated EPC2218 eGaN FETs for the primary rectification, and eight 40V rated EPC2024 eGaN FETs for the secondary synchronous rectification. The board also features a 4-by-4mm Microchip dsPIC33CKMP102T-I/M6 for flexibility, configuration, communications,  and programmability.

This new demonstration board can operate from an input voltage between 36V and 60V and delivers up to 83.3A load current. The peak efficiency from 48V to 12V is 98%; and the full load efficiency, at 12V when delivering 1kW, is 97%. The highest temperature in steady state operation at maximum load with 400 LFM airflow is 88°C, which relates to a maximum junction temperature of 95°C.

“eGaN FETs and integrated circuits increase power density for 48V to 12V converters and address data center application demands for higher power in a small size,” said Alex Lidow, CEO of EPC. “The use of a Microchip digital controller allows flexibility for programming and configuration of the EPC9149 demonstration board.”

The EPC9149 ships with a motherboard to simplify testing.

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