EPC9013

Development Board EPC9013 Quick Start Guide 100 V Parallel Evaluation for High Current Applications Using EPC2001C Revision 2.0 QUICK START GUIDE EPC9013 DESCRIPTION The EPC9013 development board features the 100 V EPC2001C enhancement mode (eGaN®) field effect transistor (FET) operating up to a 35 A maximum output current with four half bridges in parallel and a single onboard gate drive. The purpose of this development board is to simplify the evaluation process of the EPC2001C eGaN FET for high current operation by including all the critical components on a single board that can be easily connected into any existing converter. Table 1: Performance Summary (TA = 25°C) EPC9013 The EPC9013 development board is 2” x 2” and features eight EPC2001C eGaN FETs using the uPI Semiconductor uP1966A gate driver. The development board configuration is recommended for high current applications. The board contains all critical components and the printed circuit board (PCB) layout is designed for optimal switching performance. There are also various probe points to facilitate simple waveform measurement and evaluate eGaN FET efficiency. A complete block diagram of the circuit is given in Figure 1. PWM Logic Input Voltage Input ‘High’ Threshold Input ‘Low’ Minimum ‘High’ State Input VPWM rise and Pulse Width fall time < 10ns Minimum ‘Low’ State Input Pulse VPWM rise and Width (3) fall time < 10ns For more information on the EPC2001C please refer to the datasheet available from EPC at www.epc-co.com. The datasheet should be read in conjunction with this quick start guide. Symbol Parameter VDD Gate Drive Input Supply Range VIN Bus Input Voltage Range(1) 70 V VOUT Switch Node Output Voltage 100 V IOUT Switch Node Output Current (2) 35 A 6 1.5 V V VPWM Conditions Min Max Units 7 12 V 200 LFM 3.5 0 60 ns 100 ns (1) Assumes inductive load, maximum current depends on die temperature – actual maximum current will be subject to switching frequency, bus voltage and thermals. (2) Maximum current depends on die temperature – actual maximum current with be subject to switching frequency, bus voltage and thermal cooling. (3) Limited by time needed to ‘refresh’ high side bootstrap supply voltage. QUICK START PROCEDURE Development board EPC9013 is easy to set up to evaluate the performance of the EPC2001C eGaN FET. Refer to Figure 2 for proper connect and measurement setup and follow the procedure below: 1. With power off, connect the input power supply bus to +VIN (J5, J6) and ground / return to –VIN (J7, J8). 2. With power off, connect the switch node of the half bridge OUT (J3, J4) to your circuit as required. 3. With power off, connect the gate drive input to +VDD (J1, Pin-1) and ground return to –VDD (J1, Pin-2). 4. With power off, connect the input PWM control signal to PWM (J2, Pin-1) and ground return to any of the remaining J2 pins. 5. Turn on the gate drive supply – make sure the supply is between 7 V and 12 V range. EPC9013 development board 6. Turn on the bus voltage to the required value (do not exceed the absolute maximum voltage of 100 V on VOUT ). 8. Once operational, adjust the bus voltage and load PWM control within the operating range and observe the output switching behavior, efficiency and other parameters. 9. For shutdown, please follow steps in reverse. NOTE. When measuring the high frequency content switch node (OUT), care must be taken to avoid long ground leads. Measure the switch node (OUT) by placing the oscilloscope probe tip on the switch node (designed for this purpose) and grounding the probe directly across the GND terminals provided. See Figure 3 for proper scope probe technique. VIN VDD PWM Gate drive regulator Logic and dead-time adjust Q1 Level shift 7. Turn on the controller / PWM input source and probe switching node to see switching operation. Output CBypass Q2 GND For information about measurement techniques, please review the how to GaN series: HTG09- Measurement PGND Gate driver Figure 1: Block diagram of EPC9013 development board http://epc-co.com/epc/DesignSupport/TrainingVideos/HowtoGaN/ EPC – THE LEADER IN GaN TECHNOLOGY | WWW.EPC-CO.COM | COPYRIGHT 2019 | | 2 QUICK START GUIDE EPC9013 7 V – 12 V – VDD supply + Gate drive supply (Note polarity) A IIN + Switch node VIN V +