Enhanced Converters

Vicor has introduced the phased array controller to enhance the performance of its second generation DC/DC converters when used in large arrays.

The controller, implemented in a single chip, controls up to 12 converters, causing each converter to process power conversion pulses in sequence.

Such phasing reduces input current ripple and output voltage ripple, reducing the input filter requirements of high power, multiple module arrays.

All PR and PC pins of the second generation converters are connected to the PAC chip, which supports current sharing in the fault-tolerance, synchronous array. The relative phase of each module in the array is automatically adjusted in increments of 360°/N, where N is the number of enabled modules within the array.

The resulting equidistant displacement of power conversion pulses increases the apparent switching frequency by a factor of N while the peak input current is equal to that of a single module.

The converters include the 48, 300, and 375 V input families, each having three package sizes - maxi, mini, and micro - and providing output voltages of 2, 3.3, 5, 12, 15, 24, 28 and 48 DC.

The output power range for both the 48 and 300 V input families is 50 to 500 W. Output power for the 375 V input family ranges from 50 to 600 W.