EPC Eval Board Simplifies GaN-Based BLDC Motor-Drive Design

The EPC91121 motor-drive inverter evaluation board, introduced by Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) at APEC 2026, is built around the Gen-7 EPC2366 40-V eGaN power transistor. Measuring 79 × 80 mm, the board is engineered for rapid prototyping of advanced motor-drive architectures in applications such as drones, robotics, industrial automation, handheld power tools, and other compact electromechanical systems.

The EPC91121 is a complete three-phase inverter solution that integrates the key functions required for a motor-drive inverter, including gate drivers, housekeeping power supplies, voltage and temperature monitoring, current sensing, and protection.

Capable of delivering up to 70-A_peak (50 A RMS) output current from input voltages ranging between 18 and 30 V, its phase and DC-bus voltage sensing are precise enough to support advanced motor-control techniques like field-oriented control (FOC) and space-vector pulse-width modulation (PWM). The board includes a 40-pin controller interface compatible with platforms from Microchip, Renesas, STMicroelectronics, and Texas Instruments.

The design is based on the 40-V EPC2366 Gen 7 eGaN FET, which offers ultra-low on-resistance of 0.84 mΩ, enabling efficient power conversion and fast switching performance. The evaluation platform supports PWM switching frequencies up to 150 kHz. This gives engineers the ability to reduce magnetic component size, minimize switching losses, and improve overall system responsiveness. 

The board’s layout has been optimized for low-distortion switching and reduced motor acoustic noise and torque ripple, while controlling dv/dt to below 10 V/ns for stable operation. 

The EPC91121 board is priced at $335. Complete design support files, including schematic, bill of materials (BOM), and Gerber files, are available on the board’s product page linked above.