The trend of digitalization has accelerated. Consequently, the number of server farms has risen and with it the power demand. Driven by the phenomenon of global warming, the importance of higher energy efficiency of operations is therefore increasing. Introduced in 2004, the measurement standards defined by the North American 80 PLUS initiative can be used to evaluate and certify the efficiency of switched-mode power supplies (SMPS). A certificate is granted if the SMPS achieves at least 80 percent at defined load conditions. Solutions bearing the 80 PLUS certificate thus help in reducing the power demand of digitalization.
To meet the requirements for the highest efficiency 80 PLUS Titanium certification, a 94 percent efficiency at a load of 50 percent is required for 115 V input voltage and 96 percent for 230 V, respectively. Lite-on Technology Corporation, a leading power supply manufacturer from Taiwan, has achieved this target with the CoolSiC MOSFETs 650 V from Infineon Technologies AG.
Lite-on management is convinced that silicon carbide has become mainstream for applications like solar inverters. Partnering with Infineon, it is their goal to show that it is also relevant for the power supply market for servers. As a perfect fit for this application, CoolSiC technology proves its sweet spots in performance and cost at a system level. Lite-on is very keen on introducing the silicon carbide-based SMPS to the market, which exceeds the requirement of 96 percent efficiency for the Titanium certification.
“Digital transformation affects all areas of our lives: politics, economy, society, and everyday life,” said Stefan Obersriebnig, Product Line Head High Voltage Conversion of Infineon's Power & Sensor System Division. “The backbone of this digitalization are the millions of servers in farms all around the globe. Our CoolSiC technology enables the highest energy efficiency paired with unprecedented power density, which in turn significantly lowers energy consumption. This leads to a reduced carbon footprint as well as financial savings for the operator.”
The efficiency of the SMPS of Lite-on is based on Infineon's 650 V discrete silicon carbide MOSFETs. Two of the devices in TO 247-3-package in totem-pole-setup are installed in the power factor correction stage. Additionally, other semiconductors from Infineon support the design, from CoolSiC Schottky diodes 650 V to different CoolMOS™ and OptiMOS™ power devices.
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