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-Apeak (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.
>>Check out more of our APEC 2026 coverage
About the Author
Lee Goldberg
Contributing Editor
Lee Goldberg is a self-identified “Recovering Engineer,” Maker/Hacker, Green-Tech Maven, Aviator, Gadfly, and Geek Dad. He spent the first 18 years of his career helping design microprocessors, embedded systems, renewable energy applications, and the occasional interplanetary spacecraft. After trading his ‘scope and soldering iron for a keyboard and a second career as a tech journalist, he’s spent the next two decades at several print and online engineering publications.
Lee’s current focus is power electronics, especially the technologies involved with energy efficiency, energy management, and renewable energy. This dovetails with his coverage of sustainable technologies and various environmental and social issues within the engineering community that he began in 1996. Lee also covers 3D printers, open-source hardware, and other Maker/Hacker technologies.
Lee holds a BSEE in Electrical Engineering from Thomas Edison College, and participated in a colloquium on technology, society, and the environment at Goddard College’s Institute for Social Ecology. His book, “Green Electronics/Green Bottom Line - A Commonsense Guide To Environmentally Responsible Engineering and Management,” was published by Newnes Press.
Lee, his wife Catherine, and his daughter Anwyn currently reside in the outskirts of Princeton N.J., where they masquerade as a typical suburban family.
Lee also writes the regular PowerBites series.