Rad-hard GaN transistors extend EPC’s critical spacebourne family
Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) expands its family of radiation-hardened (rad-hard) GaN products with two new devices rated at 100 and 200V. The EPC7020 and EPC7003 are designed to address a multitude of critical spaceborne and other high-reliability applications.
The EPC7020 is a 200V, 11 mOhm, 170A pulsed, rad-hard GaN FET in a small footprint of 12mm2. The EPC7003 is a 100V, 30 mOhm, 42A pulsed, rad-hard GaN FET in a 1.87mm2 footprint.
Both devices have a total dose radiation rating greater than 1,000K Rad (Si) and SEE (single event effect) immunity for linear energy transfer (LET) of 83.7MeV / mg / cm2 with VDS up to 100 per cent of rated breakdown.
The EPC7020 and EPC7003 join EPC’s rad-hard family, which is made up of the EPC7019, EPC7014, EPC7004, EPC7018 and EPC7007. They are offered in a chip-scale package, the same as EPC’s commercial eGaN FET and IC family. Packaged versions will be available from EPC Space.
eGaN FETs and ICs are smaller, operate 40 times better electrically, and are lower cost than the rad-hard silicon devices typically used in high reliability and space applications, said EPC. GaN devices also support higher total radiation levels and SEE LET levels than silicon solutions, added the company.
The devices can be deployed in a range of applications including DC/DC power converters, motor drives, lidar, deep probes and ion thrusters for space applications, satellites including those for LEO and GEO (low earth orbit and geostationary earth orbit) and avionics.
“The rad-hard product family ranges from 40 to 200V and from 4.0 to 530A covering a wide range of applications in harsh environments, such as space including interplanetary scientific missions, high altitude flight, and other high reliability military applications”, said Alex Lidow, CEO, and co-founder of EPC
The EPC7020 and EPC7003 are available for engineering sampling now.
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.
