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Lidar Demonstration Board Drives Lasers with Currents up to 220 A with Under 3-ns Pulses using eGaN FETs

24.05. 2021 | News
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Efficient Power Conversion announces the availability of the EPC9150, a 200 V, high current, pulsed-laser diode driver demonstration board. In a lidar system, used to create 3-D maps for autonomous vehicle applications, speed and accuracy of object detection is critical. As demonstrated by this board, the rapid transition capability of the EPC2034C eGaN FETs provide power pulses to drive the laser diodes, VCSELs or LEDs up to ten times faster than an equivalent MOSFET and in a small fraction of the area, energy, and cost.

eGaN® FETs and integrated circuits provide the high current pulses, extremely narrow pulse widths, and small size that make affordable, high performance lidar possible. Using the 200 V, 12 square mm, EPC2034C eGaN FET, the EPC9150 can generate a 220 A laser pulse peak in a pulse width that is only 2.9 nanoseconds wide. The high current increases the range of the lidar system, while the short pulse width leads to higher resolution, and the tiny size and low cost make eGaN FETs and ICs ideal for lidar applications from automotive to industrial robotics and security (more info).

epc9150