Rad-hard eGaN products have faster switching speeds for space power
Radiation-hardened (rad-hard) enhancement-mode Gallium Nitride (eGaN) transistors and ICs from Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) have been announced. The first member of the family to be released is the EPC7014.
This 60V, 340mOhm, 4.0A pulsed, rad-hard eGaN FET is in a tiny 0.81mm2 footprint. It has a total dose rating greater than 1 Mrad and single event effect (SEE) immunity for linear energy transfer (LET) of 85MeV/(mg/cm2).
They are intended for power conversion in critical spaceborne and other high reliability environments. According to EPC, devices based on GaN deliver higher breakdown strength, faster switching speed, higher thermal conductivity and lower on-resistance than silicon-based devices. The lower resistance and gate charge enable faster power supply switching frequencies resulting in higher power densities, higher efficiencies, and more compact and lighter weight circuitry for critical spaceborne missions. GaN is also inherently radiation tolerant, making GaN-based devices a reliable, higher performing power transistor option for space applications.
Target applications are power supplies for satellites and mission equipment, light detection and ranging (lidar) for robotics and autonomous navigation and rendezvous docking, motor drives for robotics and instrumentation, and ion thrusters for satellite orientation and positioning, as well as interplanetary propulsion of low-
The EPC7014 is available for engineering sampling and will be fully qualified for volume shipments in October, 2021. The eGaN FETs are offered in a chip-scale package, which is the same as the commercial eGaN FET and IC family. Packaged versions will be available from sister company, EPC Space.
EPC specialises in enhancement mode gallium nitride (eGaN) -based power management. eGaN FETs and ICs provide performance many times greater than the best silicon power MOSFETs in applications such as DC/DC converters, remote sensing technology (lidar), motor drives for eMobility, robotics, and drones, and low cost satellites.
