April 26, 2024 
Professional magazine and portal dedicated to electronics 
Efficient Power Conversion (EPC) announces the availability of the EPC9126HC a 100 V, 150 A high current pulsed laser diode driver evaluation board. In a LiDAR system, used to create 3D maps for autonomous vehicle applications, speed and accuracy of object detection is critical. As demonstrated by this board, the rapid transition capability of eGaN FETs provide power pulses to drive the laser up to ten times faster than an equivalent MOSFET, thus enhancing the overall performance of a LiDAR system.
The EPC9126HC development board is primarily intended to drive laser diodes and features an EPC2001C ground-referenced eGaN FET driven by a Texas Instruments UCC27611 gate driver. The EPC2001C is a 100 V maximum voltage device capable of current pulses up to 150 A.
The board includes multiple ultra-low inductance connection options for mounting laser diodes and can drive these via a discharging a capacitor (as shipped) or directly from a power bus. The board does not include a laser diode, which must be supplied by the user to evaluate specific applications (more info).
