QUICK START GUIDE
EPC – EFFICIENT POWER CONVERSION CORPORATION |
WWW.EPC-CO.COM
| COPYRIGHT 2015 |
| PAGE 2
EPC9001C
DESCRIPTION
The EPC9001C development board is a 40 V maximum device
voltage, 15 A maximum output current, half bridge with onboard
gate drives, featuring the EPC2015C enhancement mode (
eGaN
®)
field effect transistor (FET). The purpose of this development
board is to simplify the evaluation process of the EPC2015C
eGaN
FET
by including all the critical components on a single board that
can be easily connected into any existing converter.
The EPC9001C development board is 2” x 1.5” and contains
two EPC2015Cs
eGaN FET
in a half bridge configuration using
Texas Instruments LM5113 gate driver, supply and bypass capacitors.
The board contains all critical components and layout for optimal
switching performance. There are also various probe points to
facilitate simple waveform measurement and efficiency calculation. A
complete block diagram of the circuit is given in Figure 1.
For more information on the EPC2015Cs
eGaN FET
please refer to
the datasheet available from EPC at www.epc-co.com. The data-
sheet should be read in conjunction with this quick start guide.
Table 1: Performance Summary (TA = 25°C)
SYMBOL PARAMETER
CONDITIONS
MIN
MAX
UNITS
V
DD
Gate Drive Input Supply Range
7
12
V
V
IN
Bus Input Voltage Range
28*
V
V
OUT
Switch Node Output Voltage
40
V
I
OUT
Switch Node Output Current
15*
A
V
PWM
PWM Logic Input Voltage Threshold
Input ‘High’
3.5
6
V
Input ‘Low’
0
1.5
V
Minimum ‘High’ State Input Pulse Width
VPWM rise and fall time < 10ns
60
ns
Minimum ‘Low’ State Input Pulse Width
VPWM rise and fall time < 10ns
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.
www.epc-co.com
Quick Start Procedure
Development board EPC9001C is easy to set up to evaluate the performance of the EPC2015C
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 +V
IN
(J5, J6) and ground / return to –V
IN
(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 supply to +V
DD
(J1, Pin-1) and ground return to –V
DD
(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.
6. Turn on the bus voltage to the required value (do not exceed the absolute maximum voltage of 100 V on V
OUT
).
7. Turn on the controller / PWM input source and probe switching node to see switching operation.
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 through the large via 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.
THERMAL CONSIDERATIONS
The EPC9001C development board showcases the EPC2015C
eGaN FET
. Although the electrical performance surpasses that for traditional silicon
devices, their relatively smaller size does magnify the thermal management requirements. The EPC9001C is intended for bench evaluation with low
ambient temperature and convection cooling. The addition of heat-sinking 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 EPC2015C development board does not have any current or thermal protection on board.