EPC and Microchip Develop 300 W 16th Brick, 48 V – 12 V DC-DC Converter Demonstration Board for High-Density Computing and Data Centers

The combination of Microchip Technology’s digital signal controllers with ultra-efficient eGaN^® FETs from EPC (Efficient Power Conversion) enable best-in-class power density of 730 W/in³ for high efficiency, low cost DC-DC Conversion

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--EPC announces the availability of the EPC9143, a 300 W DC-DC voltage regulator in 16^th brick size. The EPC9143 power module integrates Microchip’s dsPIC33CK digital signal controller (DSC) with the latest generation EPC2053 eGaN FETs from EPC to achieve 96% efficiency in a 48 V input to 12 V output conversion at 25 A. The switching frequency of 500 kHz enables the 300 W in the very small 16^th brick format which is just 33 mm x 22.9 mm (1.3 x 0.9 in). Additional phases can be added to this scalable 2-phase design to further increase power. The flexibility of the Microchip digital controllers allows the input voltage to be adjusted from 8 V – 72 V and the output voltage from 3.3 V – 25 V.

Brick DC-DC converters are widely used in data center, telecommunication and automotive applications, converting a nominal 48 V to a nominal 12 V distribution bus among other output voltages. The main trend has been towards higher power density given the form factor is fixed. A main application is high density 48V to 12V point-of-load (POL) converters, where a regulated 12V output voltage is required, like those used for commodity PCIe cards and storage.

eGaN^® FETs and integrated circuits provide the fast switching, small size and low cost that can meet the stringent power density requirements of these leading-edge applications with low component count and solution cost.

“Advanced computing applications are putting higher demands on power converters, and silicon-based power conversion is not keeping pace,” said Alex Lidow, CEO of EPC. “We are delighted to work with Microchip, a leader in this space, to provide customers with a flexible solution to increase the efficiency, increase power density, and reduce system cost for 48 V power conversion.”

“Microchip’s dsPIC^® DSCs can be programmed to fully exploit the high performance of GaN FETs,” said Joe Thomsen, VP of Microchip’s MCU16 business unit. “We are proud to work alongside EPC to provide our customers this GaN-based reference design. The combination of EPC’s GaN technology and our dsPIC33CK controllers will offer engineers the ability to significantly increase power density to meet the demanding requirements of advanced computing and telecom applications.”

Price and Availability

The EPC9143 demonstration board is priced $378.00 each and is available for immediate delivery from Digi-Key at http://www.digikey.com/Suppliers/us/Efficient-Power-Conversion.page?lang=en

About EPC

EPC is the leader in enhancement-mode gallium nitride-based power management devices. EPC was the first to introduce enhancement-mode gallium-nitride-on-silicon (eGaN) FETs as power MOSFET replacements in applications such as DC-DC converters, wireless power transfer, envelope tracking, RF transmission, power inverters, remote sensing technology (Lidar), and class-D audio amplifiers with device performance many times greater than the best silicon power MOSFETs. EPC also has a growing portfolio of eGaN-based integrated circuits that provide even greater space, energy, and cost efficiency.

Visit our web site: www.epc-co.com

eGaN is a registered trademark of Efficient Power Conversion Corporation, Inc.