Texas Instruments (TI) has unveiled a suite of power management devices and a reference design to empower companies in meeting the escalating demands of AI computing. These innovative solutions are designed to scale power management architectures from 12 V to 48 V and all the way up to 800 VDC. The lineup includes a dual-phase smart power stage, a dual-phase smart power module for lateral power delivery, a gallium nitride (GaN) intermediate bus converter (IBC), and a 30-kW AI server power supply unit reference design.
According to Chris Suchoski, general manager of TI's data center systems engineering and marketing team, data centers are intricate systems that handle power-intensive workloads, necessitating a delicate balance of multiple critical factors. These factors encompass power density, performance, safety, grid-to-gate efficiency, reliability, and robustness. Suchoski emphasizes that these considerations are particularly crucial in the development of next-generation, AI-driven data centers, which are more power-hungry and mission-critical than ever before.
Suchoski defines grid-to-gate as the comprehensive power pathway from the AC utility grid to the processor gates in AI compute servers. He underscores the importance of maximizing efficiency and power density throughout this pathway. TI is committed to assisting customers in enhancing efficiency, density, and security at every stage in the power data center by seamlessly integrating semiconductor innovation with system-level power infrastructure, thereby enabling high efficiency and high density.
TI's power conversion products for data centers are tailored to meet the growing need for increased power density and efficiency across the entire 48-V power architecture in AI data centers. These products encompass input power protection, 48-V DC/DC conversion, and high-current DC/DC conversion for the AI processor core and side rails. The newest power management devices from TI are specifically designed to cater to these cutting-edge AI infrastructures.
One notable trend in the market is the shift from single-phase to dual-phase power stages, which facilitate higher current density for multi-phase buck voltage regulators that power AI processors. Pradeep Shenoy, a technologist in TI's data center systems engineering and marketing team, highlights the dual-phase power stage's exceptional current capabilities, reaching up to 200 A peak, while occupying a remarkably compact 5 × 5-mm package. This package is thermally enhanced with top-side cooling, ensuring a highly efficient and reliable power supply in a small area.
The CSD965203B dual-phase power stage boasts the highest peak power density among its competitors, delivering 100 A of peak current per phase. It is packaged in a 5 × 5-mm quad-flat no-lead configuration. With this device, designers can increase the phase count and power delivery across a small printed-circuit-board area, thereby enhancing efficiency and performance.
Another related trend is the transition to dual-phase power modules, which integrate power stages with inductors in a compact form factor. The dual-phase power module co-packages the power stages with other components on the bottom and the inductor on top, offering both trans-inductor voltage regulator (TLVR) and non-TLVR options. These modules significantly improve the overall power density and current density of the solution, achieving over a 2× reduction in size compared to discrete solutions.
The CSDM65295 dual-phase power module delivers an impressive peak output current of up to 180 A in a compact 9 × 10 × 5-mm package. It seamlessly integrates two power stages and two inductors with TLVR options, ensuring high efficiency and reliable operation.
The GaN-based IBC (Intermediate Bus Converter) achieves an impressive output power of over 1.5 kW with peak efficiency exceeding 97.5%. It also enables regulated output and active current sharing, which is crucial as data centers witness increasing power consumption and loads. This capability allows for the parallel operation of multiple IBCs, making it highly scalable and user-friendly.
The LMM104RM0 GaN converter module offers exceptional input-to-output power conversion efficiency of over 97.5% and high light-load efficiency, facilitating active current sharing between multiple modules. It can deliver up to 1.6 kW of output power in a compact quarter-brick form factor measuring 58.4 × 36.8 mm.
TI has also introduced a 39-kW dual-stage power supply reference design for AI servers, featuring a three-phase, three-level flying capacitor power-factor-correction converter paired with dual delta-delta three-phase inductor-inductor-capacitor converters. This power supply is highly configurable, offering a single 800-V output or separate output supplies.
Additionally, TI has released a white paper titled 'Power delivery trade-offs when preparing for the next wave of AI computing growth,' and has collaborated with Nvidia to develop power management devices that support 800-VDC power architectures. These solutions will be showcased at the Open Compute Summit (OCP) from October 13-16 in San Jose, California, at Booth #C17. TI will also participate in technology sessions, including the OCP Global Summit Breakout Session and OCP Future Technologies Symposium.
