News: Microelectronics
3 June 2026
EPC targets high-density motion systems with GaN ePower Stage technology
Efficient Power Conversion Corp (EPC) of El Segundo, CA, USA — which makes enhancement-mode gallium nitride on silicon (eGaN) power field-effect transistors (FETs) and integrated circuits for power management applications — has introduced the EPC91128, EPC91129, EPC91130 and EPC91131 evaluation boards — compact, high-performance 3-phase brushless DC (BLDC) motor drive inverter platforms designed to accelerate development of next-generation motor control systems using GaN technology.
Built around the integrated EPC23108–EPC23111 ePower Stage ICs, the boards can handle input voltages from 10V to 80V and output currents up to 29ARMS. This makes it easy to test them quickly for use in robotics, industrial automation, e-mobility auxiliaries, and battery-powered systems.
Picture: GaN BLDC inverter platforms.
The evaluation boards combine important inverter functions like gate drivers, current sensing, voltage sensing, housekeeping supplies, temperature monitoring, and protection features. This lets engineers quickly build prototypes of high-efficiency motor drive solutions with very little extra circuitry. Optimized switching performance helps cut down on torque ripple and noise while still allowing for flexible dv/dt control for tuning applications.
All four boards support both complementary PWM and single-PWM control schemes (depending on variant) and are compatible with controller platforms from Microchip, Texas Instruments, STMicroelectronics and Renesas, enabling fast integration into existing development environments.
A key highlight of the new EPC91128–EPC91131 evaluation platforms is their demonstrated performance in a real motor-drive setup during experimental validation. In testing with a 48V DC bus and switching frequencies up to 100kHz, the EPC91128 and EPC91129 inverter boards — paired with a compatible controller interface — successfully powered a 3kW BLDC motor while delivering 15ARMS steady-state phase current without a heatsink and up to 20ARMS with natural-convection cooling and a heatsink attached. Under pulsed conditions, the system supported peak currents up to 29ARMS, highlighting the capability of the integrated ePower Stage IC architecture to handle demanding dynamic motor loads. Similarly, the EPC91130 and EPC91131 variants demonstrated 10ARMS steady-state operation without a heatsink and 15ARMS with heatsink assistance, with pulsed current capability reaching 18ARMS. These results confirm that the compact GaN-based inverter boards can sustain meaningful power levels suitable for industrial-grade motor-control evaluation platforms while maintaining thermal headroom and switching performance at high frequencies.
“These new inverter evaluation boards represent an important step in making GaN technology more accessible for high-performance motor-drive applications,” says CEO Alex Lidow. “As designers continue to push toward higher efficiency, higher switching frequencies, and more compact power electronics systems, solutions like the EPC91128 through EPC91131 platforms help accelerate the transition from silicon to GaN across robotics, industrial automation, and emerging battery-powered motion platforms,” he adds.
“The EPC91128–EPC91131 boards give engineers a ready-to-use platform to evaluate our latest ePower Stage ICs in real motor-drive conditions,” says Marco Palma, VP, Motor Drive Marketing and System Engineering at EPC. “With built-in current and voltage sensing, protection features, flexible PWM control options, and compatibility with several mainstream controller boards, developers can quickly prototype three-phase inverter designs and focus on optimizing system performance rather than building the power stage from the ground up.”
Complete design support files, including schematics, bill of materials (BOM), and Gerber files, are available for download from the EPC91128/29–EPC91130/31 product page.
The EPC91128/29 evaluation boards are priced at $634.57. The EPC91130/31 evaluation boards are priced at $629.63.
Reference design boards and devices are available for immediate delivery from distributors Digi-Key and Mouser.
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EPC91202 evaluation board added for three-phase BLDC motor drive inverter
EPC adds 3-phase BLDC motor drive inverter evaluation board for humanoid robot joint applications
EPC launches 3-phase BLDC motor drive inverter for robot joints and UAVs
