IEEE Power Electronics Magazine - March 2022 - 18

MPM3695-25, for instance, is an intelligent, step-down, 25 A
power module with a 3.3 - 16 V input range and 0.5 - 5.5 V output
range. The output current is scalable for up to 250 A by stacking
multiple MPM3695-25s. It is housed in a 10-#12-#4-mm
QFN package. The power density of the MPM3695-25 is
2.25 kW/in3, making it one of the only commercially available
power modules with the highest power density in the 25 A
class, claims MPS. The high-power density is made possible
by its highly efficient operation, said MPS. The efficiency
100
40
50
60
70
80
100
250
Efficiency
graph indicates that MPM3695-25 peaks at 94% with a 3.3 V
output voltage and above 80% over a wide load range.
Concurrently, MPS has also announced the launch of
500
750 1,000
Output Current (A)
FIG 5 Power conversion efficiency of the conventional voltage
regulator versus output current. Source: Vicor Corp.
a new family of 48 V to 6 V digital dc-dc modules for 48 V
datacenter, AI systems, high-performance computing and
other similar applications utilizing eGaN FETs from Efficient
Power Conversion (EPC) Corp. Combining its controller
with eGaN transistors, MPC1100-54-0000 offers a 48 V to
6 V LLC power card module with an overall efficiency above
97% from a small 27-x18-x 6-mm footprint (Figure 7). It is also
available in a surface mount package. In a statement, MPS
said that the advantage of 48 V to 6 V front-end conversion
includes the enabling of a high-frequency secondary stage
that is small enough to be placed much closer to the xPU/
ASIC/GPU. By comparison, it reduces power distribution
loss by 4X as compared to the commonly used switched-tank
capacitor topology for 48 V to 12 V conversion. The company
press release shows that eGaN FETs are well-suited for LLC
converters due to their combined low gate charge with 5 V
gate operation that yields very low gate power consumption,
ultra-low on resistance, and low output capacitance charge.
With power levels ranging from 300 W to 1000 W, these modules
are scalable and users can add up to three modules to
address higher power requirements, or scale down to one or
two modules for lower power requirements. " With the EPC
devices inside our modules, we can increase power density
significantly to meet the demanding requirements of these
advanced applications, " said Maurice Sciammas, senior vice
president of marketing & sales, MPS.
In combination with MPS ICs designed to drive GaN
FETs, additional compact modules are expected to be
released in 2022, however, details were unavailable as products
were not announced at the time this article was going
to print. Meanwhile, in a paper presented at PwrSoC 2021,
EPC engineers indicated that GaN power IC integration will
continue to add more functions on-chip. Ultimately, it will
lead to GaN based PSiPs and PwrSoCs as defined earlier.
" GaN adoption in PSiPs is still struggling and needs
FIG 6 Vicor's modular current multiplier (MCM) directly underneath
the processor. Source: Vicor.
27 mm
key catalysts and accelerators, " said Alderman. Similarly,
ADI's Odabaee thinks GaN requires further evaluation on
electrical benefits and long-term reliability. Meanwhile,
other notable GaN players like Navitas Semiconductor and
GaN Systems continue to add more functions on their GaNon-Silicon
chips.
HI and Academics
FIG 7 GaN based 48 V power converter in a small footprint.
Source: Monolithic Power Systems.
18 IEEE POWER ELECTRONICS MAGAZINE z March 2022
For future power conversion solutions with further
enhanced switching frequency, power density, conversion
ratio, and efficiency, heterogeneous integration (HI) is seen
as a promising technology. Integrating the best of CMOS
and wideband gap devices on a silicon substrate, HI promises
to further raise the performance bar as compared to
current monolithic methods. In the September 2021 issue of
IEEE Power Electronics Magazine [3], researchers Fanyi
Meng, Chenfei Wang, Ziheng Liu, Kaixue Ma, Disney Don,
and Kiat Seng Yeo highlight the progress of HI-enabled
1,700 W/in3
(%)
18 mm
IEEE Power Electronics Magazine - March 2022

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