## Five major trends in power supply design for servers

Because servers are essential for handling data communications, the server industry has grown exponentially in parallel with the Internet. Although server units were originally based on a PC architecture, a server system must be able to handle the increasing number and complexity of network hosts. Figure 1 shows a typical rack server system in a … Read more

## Belts, Chains and Gears: How Power Transmission Works

Take a deep dive into the workings of various drives as part of the power transmission process. People around the world use bicycles either to commute or exercise. But have you ever wondered how the simple action of pedaling makes the wheels spin and cover distances? When you pedal, the axle and other components like … Read more

## The start-up transistor works once!

It’s the mid 1990’s and I am a design engineer for a company that designs and manufactures custom measurement systems and high power electronics. Our customers range from experimental fusion reactor operators to electric utilities. One day my boss tells me to join him in the conference room to meet with some people from a … Read more

## On a Power Journey: Young and Ambitious–How Nexperia Delivers on its Aspiring Plans for Growth

Just five years ago, European headquartered Nexperia entered the semiconductor market as an independent entity. The former Standard Products division of NXP started out with an annual revenue of about $1.1 billion. Today, this number has already exceeded the$2.1 billion mark. By 2030 Nexperia plans to reach \$10 billion in revenue. I had the … Read more

## Current sensing considerations in a bridgeless totem pole PFC

Two of the top considerations in data center and server power-supply unit (PSU) designs are power density and efficiency. Meeting the strictest efficiency standard—80 Plus Titanium—is now a minimum requirement for next-generation data center and server PSUs. The 80 Plus Titanium requires over 96% end-to-end peak efficiency, which means that the power factor correction (PFC) … Read more

## Advanced Validation of Magnetics for High Power and Energy Applications

Analytical models regarding magnetic components` performance, cored with discrete distributed multi gapped design, are far away from satisfied, which significantly limits the high power and energy applications. Even the efforts undertaken where the modeling for the air-gapped core was built can be found in [1] and [2], the discussion only cover the length of air-gaps … Read more

## Understanding the Differences Between True Power, Reactive Power, and Apparent Power

Transformers come in many sizes and types. Transformers are rated by their capacity in volt-amps (VA). The smallest transformers may be rated at only a few volt-amps, while large utility distribution transformers are rated at thousands of volt-amps or kilovolt amps (kVA). True Power True power is the power, measured in watts or kilowatts, used … Read more

## An Introduction to Energy Storage Systems

This article introduces each type of energy storage system and its uses. The first electrical energy storage systems appeared in the second half of the 19th Century with the realization of the first pumped-storage hydroelectric plants in Europe and the United States.   Storing water was the first way to store potential energy that can then … Read more

## Improving Power Magnetics for High-Frequency Applications

Increasing operation frequencies require an improvement of magnetic power materials and their design process, especially regarding loss determination. Miniaturization of electrical devices became a focus of research and development over the last decades. Especially in mobile customer electronics or automotive applications, an increasing demand for volume optimized devices can be recognized. The progressing trend means … Read more

## Implementing load-line control for a multi-phase buck converter

With the proliferation of 5G networks, cloud computing, Internet of Things (IoT) and virtualization, IT infrastructure is driving the demand for high-performance computing servers. Each new server generation requires higher computing power and efficiency, while also increasing power requirements. One of the key aspects in ensuring that servers meet market demands is to understand the … Read more