Powering AI processors – 48V vertical power delivery changes the game
AI models demand huge current, driving legacy multiphase designs past 50 phases—causing space, thermal, and control limits Vicor addresses
Customer’s challenge
The addition of new sensors like LIDAR (light detection and ranging), together with sophisticated onboard AI processors, has allowed autonomous robots to interact more safely with humans. This manufacturer of security robots needed to integrate the new technologies into an upgraded robot platform that could support the higher processor loads while traveling further after a recharge. This required a larger battery and a smaller and scalable power supply to free up space for it. The key goals were:
- Extend the operational range and duration
- Free up space by minimizing power supply size
- Flexibility to accommodate power requirements of future sensors
The Vicor solution
The new design employed DCM DC-DC converters for each power rail. These small, highly efficient converters reduced the footprint and weight by 70% compared to the previous brick-based design. It also improved the system efficiency by 30%, reducing power losses and therefore increasing battery range. The DCM’s wide input voltage range allows compatibility with future battery technologies.
Key benefits
Key benefits
Low loss conversion to maximize performance from battery
Free up space by minimizing power supply size
Modular solution to allow future scaling-up of power
The DCM Converters saved space
Separate DCM DC-DC converters provided each of the four output rails. The converters isolated and regulated the fluctuating battery input voltage. Simple paralleling allows further DCMs to be added in future to meet a higher output power requirement on any rail. To analyze this power chain go to the Vicor Whiteboard online tool.
The power delivery network
Isolated regulated
Input: 9 – 420V
Output: 3.3, 5, 12, 13.8, 15, 24, 28, 36, 48V
Power: Up to 1300W
Peak efficiency: 96%
As small as 24.8 x 22.8 x 7.21mm
Resources
Resources for the design engineer
Innovative 48V AI power architecture delivers both high current density and high current gain
Vicor 48V Factorized Power Architecture slashes thermal losses and delivers high current density to meet the extreme power demands of AI processors
48V Factorized Power Architecture™ slashes thermal losses and outperforms multiphase approach when powering AI
AI hardware faces severe power and cooling limits. Engineers debate 48V vs. 6V intermediate buses alongside new vertical power delivery (VPD) structures
Betterfrost: Putting on the heat
Betterfrost uses a 48V module for pulsed, conductive glass heating, clearing ice in under 80 seconds while cutting start-up defrost energy by 95%