16-05-2022 | Eggtronic | Design & Manufacture
Eggtronic and Navitas Semiconductor offers a QuarEgg evaluation board to speed the development and implementation of industry’s most-efficient and highest-power-density fast-chargers and power adapters.
QuarEgg is an innovative, proprietary Zero Voltage Switching power architecture that has been created to hugely improve the efficiency and lessen the size of AC/DC converters. The architecture maximises the performance, minimises the form factor and enhances the reliability of AC/DC power schemes in applications from USB-C Power Delivery fast chargers and adapters for mobile devices and laptops to power supplies for loudspeakers and smart home assistants.
The new 35W AC/DC evaluation board pulls together the QuarEgg ZVS architecture integrated in an Eggtronic EPIC101AFQE01 secondary side mixed-signal controller embedding USB Power Delivery 3.1, Synchronous Rectification, no-opto control of primary side FET, and Navitas’ innovative GaN technology. Compared to traditional silicon-based designs built utilising ACF or QR topologies, this combination enhances AC/DC conversion performance, efficiency, and far smaller product form factors. Also, when compared to the silicon counterpart based on the same QuarEgg controller, GaN provides a further 8% energy savings.
The new AC/DC development board measures only 38.3mm x 38.3mm x 18.55mm and includes all the components required for a USB-PD or fixed-output converter Peak efficiency is in excess of 94.1%, while a very flat efficiency curve provides maximum efficiency and minimum power losses over the widest possible range of loads. This comprises an unmatched 91% efficiency when in light load conditions (10% of maximum load), which is essential for devices that are always plugged in and draining power from the mains. Using the development board, designers can also minimise standby power thanks to a no-load power consumption below 18mW. Also, the board houses a wide input voltage range of 90VAC to 264VAC, with outputs ranging from 5V/3A to 23V/1.52A.
“Performance, power density and sustainability are at the top of the design agenda when it comes to developing new generations of controllers for ZVS AC/DC converters, adapters and fast chargers,” says Igor Spinella, Eggtronic’s founder and CEO. “By incorporating Navitas’ GaN technology into a QuarEgg-based design, we created a platform that enables one of the industry’s best power density systems with the lowest light-load and standby consumption.”
“Eggtronic has pioneered high-density power conversion, partnering with Navitas since 2019,” said Navitas CEO and co-founder Gene Sheridan. “As we look to ‘Electrify our World’ GaN has a critical role to play both in delivering the fast-charging and ultra-portability that customers demand while improving energy efficiency and reducing global CO2 emissions. The new QuarEgg platform represents another significant milestone in superior charging-design for lower-power devices.”
