Further EPC eGaN FETs now AEC-qualified for automotive power systems

Efficient Power Conversion Corp (EPC) of El Segundo, CA, USA – which makes enhancement-mode gallium nitride on silicon (eGaN) power field-effect transistors (FETs) for power management applications – has announced AEC Q101 qualification of two additional eGaN devices, addressing a range of applications in the automotive industry and other harsh environments. The new products EPC2206 and EPC2212 are both discrete transistors in wafer-level chip-scale packaging (WLCS) with 80VDS and 100VDS ratings, respectively.

eGaN technology has been in mass production for over eight years, accumulating billions of hours of field experience in automotive applications, such as light detection and ranging (lidar) and radar for autonomous cars, 48–12V DC-DC converters used in data-center computers, ultra-high-fidelity infotainment systems, and high-intensity headlamps for trucks. These new devices have completed rigorous automotive AEC Q101 qualification testing and will be followed with several more discrete transistors and integrated circuits designed for the harsh automotive environment.

The EPC2206 is an 80V, 2.2mΩ enhancement-mode FET with a pulsed current rating of 390A in a 6.1mm x 2.3mm chip-scale package. The EPC2212 is a 100V, 13.5mΩ component with a pulsed current rating of 75A in a 2.1mm x 1.6mm chip-scale package. These eGaN FETs are said to be many times smaller and achieve switching speeds 10–100 times faster than their silicon MOSFET counterparts.

The EPC2206 is suitable for vehicles using 48V bus power distribution to manage the power-hungry electronically driven functions and features appearing on the latest cars, such as electric start-stop, electric steering, electronic suspension and variable-speed air conditioning. Now, with the emergence of self-driving vehicles, additional demands from systems such as lidar, radar, camera and ultrasonic sensors are placed uon the power distribution system, accelerating the need for automobiles to move to a 48V bus system. For 48V bus systems, GaN devices like the EPC2206 increase efficiency, shrink size and weight, and reduce system cost.

The EPC2212 is suited to use for firing the lasers in lidar systems because the FET can be triggered to create high current with extremely short pulse widths. The short pulse width leads to higher resolution, and the higher pulse current allows the lidar system to discern objects at greater distances. These two characteristics, along with their tiny size and low cost, make eGaN FETs ideal for radar and ultrasonic sensors in addition to lidar in demanding automotive applications.

“These two automotive products are the next in what will be a constant stream of transistors and integrated circuits designed to enable autonomous driving and improve fuel economy and safety,” says CEO & co-founder Alex Lidow. “Our eGaN technology is faster, smaller, more efficient, lower cost and more reliable than the aging silicon power MOSFET used in today’s vehicles.”

Tags: EPC E-mode GaN FETs GaN-on-Si

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