The EPC2152 80V, 12.5A ePower Stage IC is designed for 48V DC/DC conversion in applications as diverse as computing and in motor drives for e-mobility.

The single-chip driver and eGaN FET half-bridge power stage uses EPC's proprietary GaN IC technology. Input logic interface, level shifting, bootstrap charging and gate drive buffer circuits are integrated with eGaN output FETs in a monolithic chip. The chip-scale LGA device measures just 3.9 x 2.6 x 0.63mm. 

In a 48 to 12V buck converter at 1MHz switching frequency, it achieves a peak efficiency above 96%, yet is 33% smaller on the PCB compared to an equivalent multi-chip discrete implementation, claims the company.

This is the first in a planned family of integrated power stages available in chip scale package (CSP) and multi-chip quad flat modules (QFM). EPC says that within a year, the family will include ICs capable of operating at high frequency up to 3.0 to 5MHz and 15 to 30A per power stage.

The family is designed to make it easier to exploit GaN’s performance improvements, says the company. Integrated devices in a single chip are easier to design, easier to layout, easier to assemble, save space on the PCB, and increase efficiency, it adds.

"Integrated GaN-on-silicon offers higher performance in a smaller footprint with significantly reduced engineering required, said Alex Lidow, CEO and co-founder of EPC. He added that this family marks a "significant stage in the evolution of GaN power conversion . . . to more complex solutions that offer in-circuit performance beyond the capabilities of silicon solutions".

There is also a development board, the EPC90120, to evaluate the IC. It is an 80V maximum device voltage, 12.5A maximum output current, half bridge featuring the EPC2152 Integrated ePower Stage, measuring 50.0 x 50.8 (2.0 x 2.0-inches).