News: Microelectronics
25 September 2020
Lite-on uses Infineon’s CoolSiC MOSFETs for SMPS achieving 80 PLUS Titanium certificate
The trend of digitalization has accelerated. Consequently, the number of server farms has risen and with it the power demand. Driven by 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% 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% efficiency at a load of 50% is required for 115V input voltage and 96% for 230V, respectively. Power supply manufacturer Lite-on Technology Corp of Taipei, Taiwan has achieved this target using 650V CoolSiC silicon carbide metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) from Infineon Technologies AG of Munich, Germany.
Lite-on management is convinced that silicon carbide has become mainstream for applications like solar inverters. Partnering with Infineon, their goal is to show that it is also relevant for the power supply market for servers. For this application, CoolSiC technology proves its sweet spot in performance and cost at a system level, says Infineon. Lite-on is introducing the SiC-based SMPS to the market, exceeding the requirement of 96% efficiency for the Titanium certification.
“Digital transformation affects all areas of our lives: politics, economy, society, and everyday life,” says Stefan Obersriebnig, product line head High Voltage Conversion of Infineon’s Power & Sensor System Division. “The backbone of this digitalization is the millions of servers in farms all around the globe,” he adds. “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 Lite-on’s SMPS is based on Infineon’s 650V discrete SiC MOSFETs. Two of the devices in a TO 247-3-package in totem-pole-setup are installed in the power factor correction (PFC) stage. Additionally, other semiconductors from Infineon support the design, from 650V CoolSiC Schottky diodes to various CoolMOS and OptiMOS power devices.
