Case study: Electronic warfare airborne radar

High-density power modules provide an effective and scalable solution for high capacitive loads

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Customer’s challenge

Airborne radar systems frequently require specific input and output voltages to support pulsed loads where large bulk capacitors are charged by constant current sources. Accommodating varying load and power requirements across system configurations requires a scalable and flexible power supply. In addition, the power supply must provide a constant switching frequency to minimize interference with sensitive onboard equipment and be compact and light due to strict airborne space limitations. The key challenges were:

Increase power without increasing space required by the power supply
A solution that can adapt to different power needs
Minimize EMI interference to prevent disruption of associated electronics

The Vicor solution

The scalable output rails of Vicor high-density, high-efficiency power modules enable effortless power capacity adjustments by simply adding or removing converters to the power delivery network. The constant switching frequency of Vicor DCM™ DC-DC converters simplifies the necessary filtering to prevent interference with nearby sensitive equipment. This modular design ensures a straightforward implementation, resulting in a flexible, scalable, and highly efficient power solution. The key benefits were:

Key benefits

Scalable modular solution to easily increase power

ZVS topology simplifies filtering

High-power density in small spaces

Power delivery network

On a MIL-STD 704 bus, eight DCM™ DC-DC converters are placed in parallel to create a high power 3.2kW regulated 22V output that feeds a 200μF bulk capacitor. Another DCM provides a 53V output, which is converted to a 3.3V, 300W output by a pair of fixed-ratio (K=1/16) BCM® bus converter modules.