The EPC9165 is a 2 kW, two-phase 48 V — 14 V bidirectional converter that operates with 97 % peak efficiency in a small footprint. This solution is ideal for high-density and high-power 48V battery packs such as those required for eMobility and light mobility.
The solution is scalable; two converters can be paralleled for 4 kW, three converters for 6 kW or only one phase can be used for 1 kW. In this application, the output voltage is 14V; however, since the topology is a hard-switching buck converter, the output voltage can easily be adjusted for voltages between 12 V and 36 V.
The EPC9165 reference design features the EPC2302 GaN FET, which uses EPC’s latest generation 100 V GaN technology. The EPC2302 delivers 101 A continuous current and 390 A pulsed current. The thermally enhanced QFN package with an exposed top improves the thermal dissipation to the heatsink. It delivers 0.2 degC/W thermal resistance to the heatsink, and wettable flanks simplify assembly inspection and improve robustness for thermal cycles. The EPC2302 GaN FET offers a super small typical RDS(on), of just 1.4 mOhm typical and 1.8 mOhm maximum, together with very small QG of 23 nC typical, QGD of 2.3 nC typical, QOSS of 85 nC typical, and zero QRR for low conduction and switching losses.
The EPC9165 reference design features the new MPS MPQ1918 100 V automotive half-bridge driver developed specifically for use with GaN FETs. The MPQ1918 is available in a small 3x3mm FCQFN package with wettable flanks to enable optical inspection. The device has a peak source current of 1.6A with a 0.2Ω / 1.2Ω pull-down/pull-up resistance to enable the usage of high-power FETs with faster switching edges to maximize efficiency and increase power density. Compared to other automotive half-bridge GaN drivers, this device provides higher efficiency, improves EMI, and is very cost-effective.
