Technical Features

May 2021
Molded Power Inductors

Figure 1a here

Figure 1a: Saturation current (Isat) comparison between a hard saturation ferrite power inductor (orange color) and soft saturation powdered alloy power inductor (blue color) at different ambient temperatures displayed by REDEXPERT. Saturation at an ambient temperature of 20ºC

Higher power requirements and miniaturization expose passives to rising temperatures, increasing the probability of thermal aging. This article explores how to select molded high-current power inductors, which are exposed to high temperatures for an extended time. The constant market demand to increase power density
Date:
09/28/2024
Server / Telecom - Si and WBG solutions: Part 3 of 4 Editorial Series Sponsored by Infineon; Towards Efficient, Reliable, and Cost-Effective Power Supply Units for 5G Telecom Rectifiers Applications Using Wide-Bandgap Semiconductors

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Figure 1: Key features required for AC-DC SMPS in the latest generation of telecom applications

The 5G spectrum has been released in several countries worldwide and already in commercial use. 5G is accelerating and promises to change our lives thanks to large bandwidth, massive connection, and ultra-low latency. On top of this network evolution, we need to consider the advancements in the so-called mobile ed
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Date:
05/07/2021
Server / Telecom - Si and WBG solutions: Part 4 of 4 Editorial Series Sponsored by Infineon; Design Guidelines for High Power Server and Telecom Power Supplies Use-Cases

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Table 1a: Key performance indicators of silicon (Si)-based superjunction technology CoolMOS™ C7 compared to SiC MOSFET CoolSiC™ and GaN HEMT technology CoolGaN™

Introduction With the recent introduction of active wide bandgap (WBG) power semiconductors on a broad commercial scale, the number of use cases is rapidly increasing. High power applications such as power supplies for server and telecom have been among the first adaptors driving acceptance and early success stories.
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Date:
05/07/2021
Server / Telecom - Si and WBG solutions: Part 2 of 4 Editorial Series Sponsored by Infineon; How to Reap the Benefits of  Wide-Bandgap Semiconductors in Server Applications

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Figure 1: Comparison of temperature dependency of the on-state resistance for different semiconductor technologies, such as Infineon’s CoolMOS™, CoolSiC™, and CoolGaN™

The emergence of cloud-based internet services, artificial intelligence, and cryptocurrency has initiated a strong growth of processing power in data centers worldwide. Since the data centers have also been facing rising electricity and real estate prices, there is a clear trend towards highly efficient and co
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Date:
05/06/2021
Which Airflow Direction for Power Supply Fan Cooling?

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Figure 1: Genesys+ DC programmable power supply

With integral, built-in fans some power supplies have the fan blow cool air into the power supply and others have the fan extract the hot air. The option to have the power supply manufacturer reverse the direction of the fan may be available. This may be of interest to the user when the system and power supply ai
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Date:
05/03/2021
Powering Patient-Connected Medical Devices

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Figure 1: Medical power system with secondary DC-DC

Many medical products are likely to come into contact with patients or operators during normal use or may require a sensor or device to be directly applied to a patient to perform their function. These ‘applied parts’ must be suitably isolated from any power source and ground to prevent current flow and co
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Date:
05/03/2021
When the Greek God Aeolus Meets the Norse Goddess Skadi!

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Figure 1 – Wind-farm Markbygden 1101 up-North Sweden deploying more than 1100 wind turbines (Picture: PRBX / Courtesy of Svevind AB Markbygden 1101)

Although solar is getting a large amount of attention, wind turbines are stealthily and rapidly gaining market share. In less than 10 years wind turbines have become more efficient and more powerful, with the latest generation units being almost as high as the Eiffel Tower and able to deliver 13 megawatts of po
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Date:
05/03/2021
MOSFET for Hot-Swap Applications

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Figure 1. Multi-module Telecom-server Hot-Swap Applications

When hot-swap circuits are used in high-availability systems, the operation will not be interrupted if there is a need to replace or add attentional units for system operation. Figure 1 shows that hot-swapping can often involve a large transient current (up to hundreds of amperes) to charge the output capacitor
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Date:
05/03/2021
Mitigating Heat Problems in Modern Computer Power Systems

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Figure 1. LT3033 typical application

Each successive generation of computing systems demands more total power and lower supply voltages than its predecessor, challenging power supply designers to keep pace with higher output current in a small area. At high power densities with low output voltages, the problem of heat dissipation rises to the top of
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Date:
05/03/2021
Powering 5G

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Figure 1: Base station energy consumption rise (adapted from Huawei data)

We have all been looking forward to 5G mobile communications and the promised benefits – faster downloads at speeds theoretically greater than 50Gps, 50x lower latency than 4G, the opening up of the IoT for home and factory automation and of course control of autonomous vehicles. By 2025, the resulting data tr
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Date:
05/03/2021
Foundations of Quiescent Current in Linear Power Systems

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Figure 1. Common battery-powered applications that use LDOs

With many portable medical devices, consumer electronics and building automation products now relying exclusively on battery power, design engineers are increasingly looking to reduce power consumption to get the most they can from their batteries. Figure 1 depicts some of the most common applications for which
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Date:
05/03/2021
Shrinking the Physical Layouts of Power Systems Designs

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Figure 1: Infineon Technologies CoolSiC 1200V SiC Trench MOSFETs support higher switching frequencies with reduced heat dissipation in a space-saving package. (Source: Mouser Electronics)

Business magnate, industrial designer, and engineer Elon Musk is aiming to land humans on Mars by 2026. Musk’s vision is leading humanity to explore more of space. In contrast, power systems designers are primarily concerned with saving space on their physical layouts of power systems designs. Not to be
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Date:
05/03/2021
Server / Telecom - Si and WBG solutions: Part 1 of 4 Editorial Series Sponsored by Infineon; Innovative Silicon Solution for Highest PFC Efficiency

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Figure 1: Circuit diagram of the proposed solution using CoolMOS™ in a half-bridge configuration

Introduction As a result of the pandemic that lately has had a significant impact on our lives, communication networks became a crucial part of critical social infrastructure. To achieve the required server capacities and fast connectivity and address the challenges of this unprecedented situation and, highly
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Date:
05/03/2021
The Next Revolutionary Step for Low Power

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Figure 1. Simplified circuit of the active clamp flyback (ACF) topology

Introduction It is estimated that 4 billion chargers and adapters are produced globally every year. They charge our mobile phones, tablets, wearables, and the myriad of other consumer electronic goods we consume continuously. The cost of the adapter is undoubtedly a significant consideration for original equipme
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Date:
05/01/2021
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