FET Driver Brings Industry’s Fastest Switching Speeds to GaN Class-D Audio

SAN DIEGO – Peregrine Semiconductor Corp. announces the UltraCMOS PE29102, a high-speed FET driver. With a switching frequency up to 40 MHz, the PE29102 delivers the industry’s fastest switching speeds, empowering design engineers to extract the full performance and switching-speed advantages from GaN transistors. In class-D audio amplifiers, this new high-speed FET driver enables GaN technology to deliver superior audio performance with low jitter.

Audio systems are challenged to both minimize size and deliver exceptional audio quality to listeners. At the system-design level, better audio performance and sound quality occur when distortion is reduced. MOSFET components have parasitic diodes and gate capacitance that creates jitter and distortion in class-D audio systems, whereas GaN FETs have much smaller gate capacitance and lower parasitics. GaN transistors can beat MOSFET jitter performance by a factor of ten and deliver reduced distortion and smooth sound. However, to reach this performance potential, GaN transistors need an optimized gate driver. The PE29102 is designed specifically for this purpose. Its high switching speeds result in smaller peripheral components and enable innovative designs for applications like class-D audio.

Peregrine’s UltraCMOS technology platform is the driving force behind the PE29102’s industry-leading speed. The technology enables integrated circuits to operate at much faster speeds than conventional CMOS technologies. This speed advantage results in significantly smaller power converters, which benefits the design engineer with increased power density.

To showcase the GaN-enabling capabilities of this driver, Peregrine developed evaluation kits with two leading GaN transistor providers—GaN Systems and EPC. 

• The GaN Systems GS61004B evaluation board allows the user to evaluate the PE29102 gate driver in a full-bridge configuration. The evaluation board is assembled with two PE29102 FET drivers and four GS61004B GaN transistors. The full-bridge board is available from Peregrine as EK29102-03, GaN Systems as GS61004B-EVBCD and distributor Richardson RFPD under both part numbers.
• The EPC9086 is a half-bridge board that uses one PE29102 to drive the 30V, 15A EPC2111 EPC eGaN half bridge. This board is available from EPC via its distributor Digi-Key. 

Features, Packaging, Price and Availability 

The UltraCMOS PE29102 is a high-speed FET driver with a switching speed up to 40 MHz. It is ideal for either half-bridge or full-bridge configurations. The PE29102 integrates resistor-settable, internal dead-time control and is implemented in a manner to preserve the integrity of the incoming audio signal. When used in conjunction with GaN FETs, low dead times minimize crossover distortion in class-D applications. The PE29102’s unique set of phase-control pins enable the same part to be used for both phases in bridge-tied load (BTL) configurations—a technique used in audio amplifiers. It has an output source current of 2A and an output sink current of 4A. The PE29102 handles voltages up to 60V and supports a gate drive up to 6V. 

Offered as a 2 x 1.6 mm flip-chip die, PE29102 volume-production parts, samples and evaluation kits are available now.  

For more information, visit http://www.psemi.com.