Integrated, High-Frequency DC-DC Converter Technologies Leading to Monolithic Power Conversion

Increasing demands in end-user applications such as greater speed and bandwidth, computing power, storage density with demands on energy efficiency have driven power management solutions towards higher conversion efficiencies, higher power densities, greater noise immunity, and extreme integration. We present advances and choices in the fundamental technologies as well as their manufacturing counterparts which lead to the simultaneous increase in switching frequencies and power density while maintaining or even increasing efficiencies. Highly integrated power solutions enabling end-user needs are presented along with roadmaps of technology and manufacturing evolution over time.

I. Introduction

The convergence of many data intensive services coupled with mobile and wireless applications with a strong move towards cloud computing in the backbone to support data hungry architectures is creating large pressures on original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to adopt new power technologies that can address the rapidly growing needs for these new environments. Such demands drive greater data processing and transmission speeds, higher bandwidth systems, complex and massive data storage systems and higher network interface performance. Specific areas where such needs are most acute include high performance servers; 10GbE interfaces, optical and mezzanine network interface units, WCDMA and LTE wireless access systems, carrier-class Ethernet equipment, hybrid and solid-state storage units and controllers, as well as integrated RAID and high capacity solid state drives.