DrGaN Development Board
EPC9201/3
Quick Start Guide
PLUS
Optimized Half-Bridge Circuit for eGaN® FETs
EPC9201 Top side
EPC9203 Top side
11 x 12 mm
Mounting side
QUICK START GUIDE
Demonstration System EPC9201/3
DESCRIPTION
This development board, measuring 11 x 12 mm, contains two enhancement mode (eGaN®) field effect transistors (FETs) arranged in a
half bridge configuration with an onboard Texas Instruments LM5113
gate drive and is driven by a single PWM input. The purpose of these
development boards is to simplify the evaluation process by optimizing
the layout and including all the critical components on a single board
that can be easily connected into any existing converter. A complete
block diagram of the circuit is given in figure 1.
PWM
VDD2
Half-Bridge with High
Frequency Input Capacitors
Dead-time
adjust logic
5V
LINPWM
HINPWM
HIN
LM5113
gate driver
VDD1
5V
For more information on EPC’s family of eGaN FETs and ICs, please refer to the datasheets available from EPC at www.epc-co.com. The datasheet should be read in conjunction with this quick start guide
CIN
Q1
LIN
Q2
Figure 1: Block diagram of EPC9201/3 development board.
THERMAL CONSIDERATIONS
The development board is intended for bench evaluation with low
ambient temperature and convection cooling. The addition of heatsinking and forced air cooling can significantly increase the current
rating of these devices, but care must be taken to not exceed the
absolute maximum die temperature of 150°C.
NOTE: The development board does not have any current or thermal protection on board.
Table 1: Performance Summary (TA = 25°C) EPC9201/3
Symbol
Parameter
VDD
Gate Drive Input Supply Range
VINP
Bus Input Voltage Range
VOUT
Switch Node Output Voltage
IOUT
VPWM
Switch Node Output Current
PWM Logic Input Voltage Threshold
Conditions
Min
4.5
Max
Units
5
V
When using 30 V rated EPC9201
20*
V
When using 80 V rated EPC9203
60*
V
V
When using 30 V rated EPC9201
30
When using 80 V rated EPC9203
80
V
When using 30 V rated EPC9201
40*
A
When using 80 V rated EPC9203
20*
A
Input 'High'
3.5
6
V
Input 'Low'
0
1.5
V
Minimum 'High' State Input Pulse Width
VPWM rise and fall time < 10 ns
60
ns
Minimum 'Low' State Input Pulse Width
VPWM rise and fall time < 10 ns
200#
ns
* Assumes inductive load, maximum current depends on die temperature – actual maximum current
with be subject to switching frequency, bus voltage and thermals.
# Limited by time needed to ‘refresh’ high side bootstrap supply voltage.
EPC – THE LEADER IN GaN TECHNOLOGY | WWW.EPC-CO.COM | COPYRIGHT 2019 |
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QUICK START GUIDE
Demonstration System EPC9201/3
PWM INPUT
Bump Side View
D
VDD1
PWM Input
VDD2
5V
Dead-time
adjust logic
GND
DRGND
HIN PWM
LIN PWM
HIN
LIN
LM5113
gate driver
VDD1
5V
VDD2
D
Q1
Q2
D
PWM
VSW
HIN
HINPWM
LIN
LINPWM
VIN
Figure 2: Single PWM input setup.
NOTE: Single PWM timing optimized for most buck converter applications.
For other applications or desired timing settings, two PWM input setting recommended.
Bump Side View
PWM
VDD2
5V
Dead-time
adjust logic
HIN PWM
VDD1
LIN PWM
D1
DRGND
D2
D1
HIN
VDD1
5V
LIN
LM5113
gate driver
VDD2
Q1
Q2
D2
PWM
VSW
HIN
HINPWM
LIN
GND
LINPWM
VIN
Figure 3: Two PWM input setup.
EPC – THE LEADER IN GaN TECHNOLOGY | WWW.EPC-CO.COM | COPYRIGHT 2019 |
| 3
QUICK START GUIDE
Demonstration System EPC9201/3
TYPICAL PERFORMANCE
Efficiency (%)*
EPC9201
93
92
91
90
89
88
87
86
85
84
83
82
81
80
fSW = 0.5 MHz
fSW = 1 MHz
2
6
10
14
18
20
26
30 34
Output Current (A)
38
42
46
50
Figure 6: Typical efficiency for VIN = 12 V to VOUT = 1 V, L = 250 nH
*Total system efficiency including power stage, inductor, driver, capacitors, and PCB losses.
Figure 4: Typical switch node voltage waveform for
VIN = 12 V to VOUT = 1 V, IOUT = 40 A, fsw = 1 MHz buck converter.
Efficiency (%)*
EPC9203
98.0
97.5
97.0
96.5
96.0
95.5
95.0
94.5
94.0
93.5
93.0
92.5
92.0
fSW = 300 kHz
fSW = 500 kHz
0
2
4
6
8
10
12 14 16 18 20 22
Output Current (A)
24
26 28
30 32
Figure 7: Typical efficiency for VIN = 48 V to VOUT = 12 V, L = 4.7 µH
*Total system efficiency including power stage, inductor, driver, capacitors, and PCB losses.
EPC – THE LEADER IN GaN TECHNOLOGY | WWW.EPC-CO.COM | COPYRIGHT 2019 |
Figure 5: Typical switch node voltage waveform for
VIN = 48 V to VOUT = 12 V, IOUT = 20 A, fsw = 500 kHz buck converter
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QUICK START GUIDE
Demonstration System EPC9201/3
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
To improve the electrical and thermal performance of the DrGaNPLUS
development board some design considerations are recommended:
1. Large copper planes should be connected to the development
board to improve thermal performance as shown in figures 8
through 11. If filled vias are used in the board design, thermal
vias should be placed under the device as shown in figure 8 to
better distribute heat through buried inner layers. For a design
without filled vias, thermal vias should be located outside of the
development board.
2. To reduce conduction losses, the inductor and output capacitors
should be located in close proximity to the development board.
3. The smaller IC ground connection (pin 6 in mechanical drawings),
should be isolated from the power ground connection (pin 3 in
mechanical drawings).
4. If additional input filter capacitance is required, it can be placed
outside the module. Due to the internal on-board input
capacitance, minimizing the distance of the additional input
capacitors to the development board, while preferred, is not a
design requirement.
Figure 8: Top layer without filled thermal vias.
Figure 9: Inner layout 1 layout.
Figure 10: Inner layout 2 layout.
Figure 11: Bottom layer layout.
EPC – THE LEADER IN GaN TECHNOLOGY | WWW.EPC-CO.COM | COPYRIGHT 2019 |
| 5
QUICK START GUIDE
Demonstration System EPC9201/3
D
E F
B
C
10
G
11
9
A
H I
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
M
8
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
J
K
2
7
L
N
6
3
3
3
3
5
4
3
3
3
3
10
11
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
9
Pin 1: Input Voltage, VIN
Pin 2: Switching Node, VSW
Pin 3: Power Ground, PGND
Pin 4: Driver Voltage, VDD2
8
2
7
2
2
Pin 5: Driver Voltage, VDD1
2
2
Pin 7: PWM Input, PWM
Pin 6: Driver Ground, DRGND
Pin 8: High Side Input, HIN
6
5
Millimeter
11.00
1.00
0.80
12.00
1.00
0.80
1.65
1.00
0.80
0.50
1.25
2.50
2.80
1.25
4
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
Pin 9: PWM High Side Input, HINPWN
Pin 10: Low Side Input, LIN
Pin 11: PWM Low Side Input, LINPWN
Table 3: Bill of Materials - EPC9201/3
Item
Qty
Reference
Part Description
Manufacturer
Part Number
1
3
CIN1, CIN2, CIN3
Capacitor, 4.7 µF, 10%, 50 V, X5R, 0805 (EPC9201)
Capacitor, 1 µF, 20%, 100 V, X7S, 0805 (EPC9203)
TDK
C2012X5R1H475K125AB (EPC9201)
C2012X7S2A105M125AB (EPC9203)
2
2
Q1, Q2
EPC9201: 40 V 33 A eGaN FET / 30 V 60 A eGaN FET
EPC9203: 80 V 60 A eGaN FET
EPC
EPC2015C / EPC2023 (EPC9201)
EPC2021 (EPC9203)
3
4
R19, R20, R23, R24
Resistor, 0 Ω, 1/16 W
Stackpole
RMCF0402ZT0R00TR
4
1
C9
Capacitor, 0.1 µF, 10%, 25 V, X5R
TDK
C1005X5R1E104K050BC
5
1
C19
Capacitor, 1 µF, 10%, 16 V, X5R
TDK
C1005X5R1C105K050BC
6
1
U2
I.C., Gate driver
Texas Instruments
LM5113
7
2
D1, D2
Diode Schottky 40 V 0.12 A SOD882
NXP
BAS40L,315
8
1
U4
IC GATE AND UHS 2-INP 6-MICROPAK
Fairchild
NC7SZ08L6X
9
1
U1
IC GATE NAND UHS 2-INP 6MICROPAK
Fairchild
NC7SZ00L6X
10
1
R1
Resistor, 10K Ω 1/20 W 1% 0201
Stackpole
MCF0201FT10K0
11
2
C6, C7
Capacitor, CER 100 pF 50 V 5% NP0 0402
Murata
GRM1555C1H101JA01D
12
1
D3
Schottky Diode, 30 V, 2 A MICROSMP (EPC9201 only) Vishay
MSS2P3-M3/89A
13
1
R4
Resistor, 3.92 Ω 1/16 W 1% 0402 SMD
Stackpole
RMCF0402FT3R92
14
1
R5
Resistor, 20 Ω 1/16 W 1% 0402 SMD (EPC9201)
Resistor, 100 Ω 1/16 W 1% 0402 SMD (EPC9203)
Stackpole
RMCF0402FT20R0CT (EPC9201)
RMCF0402FT100RCT (EPC9203)
EPC – THE LEADER IN GaN TECHNOLOGY | WWW.EPC-CO.COM | COPYRIGHT 2019 |
| 6
QUICK START GUIDE
EPC – THE LEADER IN GaN TECHNOLOGY | WWW.EPC-CO.COM | COPYRIGHT 2019 |
V
1
VIN
CIN1
CIN2
CIN3
PWM
R1
U1
A
V
2
VDD
U2
B
G ND
HIN
C9
R19
VG1
Q1
VA
R23
Y
NC 7SZ00L6X
LIN
U4
A
R20
VDD
VG2
Q2
D3*
R24
B
HIN_PWM
G ND
D1
Y
LM5113TM
C19
*for EPC9201 only
C6
NC 7SZ08L6X
R4
D2
LIN_PWM
R5
C7
| 7
Demonstration System EPC9201/3
Figure 12: Full schematic EPC9201/EPC9203 Rev 2
For More Information:
Please contact info@epc-co.com
or your local sales representative
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EPC Products are distributed through Digi-Key.
www.digikey.com
Demonstration Board Notification
The EPC9201/3 board is intended for product evaluation purposes only. It is not intended for commercial use nor is it FCC approved for resale. Replace components on
the Evaluation Board only with those parts shown on the parts list (or Bill of Materials) in the Quick Start Guide. Contact an authorized EPC representative with any questions. This board is
intended to be used by certified professionals, in a lab environment, following proper safety procedures. Use at your own risk.
As an evaluation tool, this board is not designed for compliance with the European Union directive on electromagnetic compatibility or any other such directives or regulations. As board
builds are at times subject to product availability, it is possible that boards may contain components or assembly materials that are not RoHS compliant. Efficient Power Conversion Corporation (EPC) makes no guarantee that the purchased board is 100% RoHS compliant.
The Evaluation board (or kit) is for demonstration purposes only and neither the Board nor this Quick Start Guide constitute a sales contract or create any kind of warranty, whether express
or implied, as to the applications or products involved.
Disclaimer: EPC reserves the right at any time, without notice, to make changes to any products described herein to improve reliability, function, or design. EPC does not assume any liability
arising out of the application or use of any product or circuit described herein; neither does it convey any license under its patent rights, or other intellectual property whatsoever, nor the
rights of others.
