EPC has 40V GaN fets for low-voltage servers

Update: August 6, 2023
EPC has 40V GaN fets for low-voltage servers

Called EPC2069, it is “designed for the secondary side of the LLC dc-dc converter from 40 – 60V to 12V, which is becoming common for the new 48V – 54V input servers required for high density computing applications such as artificial intelligence and gaming”, according to EPC CEO Alex Lidow. “This device offers both smaller size and reduced parasitics compared with previous-generation 40V GaN FETs.”

Called EPC2069, it comes in a 3.25 x 3.25mm (10.6mm2) package and has 12.5nC (typ, 16.2nC max) gate charge (20Vds, 5Vgs, 30A) and zero reverse recovery loss, suiting it to operation at 1MHz and up.

Rds(on) in the enhancement mode device is 2.25mΩ and it can handle up to 80A continuously or 422A pulsed.

Applications are foreseen delivering 500W to 2kW at efficiencies over 98%, and with power density potentially above 4kW/in3, although “the use of eGaN devices in both the primary side and the secondary side are required to achieve power density >4,000W/in3“, said EPC. Electronics Weekly has requested more information on this concept.

An associated development board (EPC90139 51 x 51mm) has a half-bridge totem pole made from two of the devices and can output up to 40A. It includes a circuit to split and re-time a single external PWM signal into waveforms for the upper and lower fets, as well as gate drivers.

EPC2069 and EPC90139 are available from Digi-Key