High Frequency DCDC GaN HEMT USB Type-C PD EPR Four-Switch Buck-Boost Converter

Peripheral devices in industry and consumer electronics are commonly powered by a Universal Serial Bus interface. Hereby new revisions in the standard brought an ever increase in the maximum transferable power level. The latest revision aims to increase the voltage range further and enables a possible supply of up to 240W. The proposed Buck-Boost converter uses a high switching frequency to reach the specifications of the standard in a small form factor. Gallium Nitride switches allow to achieve high efficiency at high switching frequency and therefore enable high power densities. The performance of the proposed custom hardware is verified by electrical and thermal measurements. The achieved efficiency over a large load range is above 90% reaching >98% in optimal conditions.