News: Microelectronics
11 January 2021
MinDCet releases GaN-based half-bridge evaluation kit for 48V applications
Power semiconductor design house MinDCet of Leuven, Belgium has introduced the gallium nitride (GaN)-based MDC901-EVKHB half-bridge evaluation kit, which is based on the MinDCet MDC901 GaN gate driver and two GS61008P enhancement-mode (E-mode) GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) from GaN Systems Inc of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (a fabless developer of gallium nitride-based power switching semiconductors for power conversion and control applications).
The high-end, high-performance solution has been developed to allow power electronics designers to easily design-in GaN for 48V market applications, including step-down converters, boost converters and class D audio applications.
The space-technology-based MDC901 is a non-isolated 200V GaN gate driver with gate drive strength exceeding 9A, true floating programmable regulators, integrated charge pump, bootstrap diodes and extensive diagnostics. It is suitable for high-performance and high-reliability applications, where application diagnostics and GaN lifetime are key.
The MDC901-EVKHB evaluation kit features a 100V input step-down converter providing up to 30A of output current. The complete and compact power stage consists of the MDC901 in combination with two GS61008P E-mode GaN HEMTs. The evaluation board allows control of all MDC901 control IOs (internal/external dead-time control, programmable dead-time and programmable gate voltage) as well as verification of all diagnostic outputs (under-voltage detection, gate drive monitoring and temperature sensing).
The evaluation kit contains all hardware to reliably connect the board to an external power source, as well as the required fan, heat-sink, wiring and connectors to guarantee measurements under safe conditions. The evaluation kit is supported by GaN Systems and available for purchase through MinDCet.
MinDCet leverages expertise in high-voltage, power and mixed-signal ASIC design, delivering tailored integrated circuits. In-house production testing facilities allow medium-volume production of ASICs. The core development activities are focused on wide-bandgap gate drivers (GaN and SiC), high-voltage (>650V), radiation-hardened and high-temperature ASICs for power control, sensing and motor driving applications.
