The Sine Amplitude Converter Topology Provides Superior Efficiency and Power Density in Intermediate Bus Architecture Applications
by Maurizio Salato, Applications Engineering, Vicor Corp., Vendor website, Jun 01 2011
Focus:
This 7-page white paper explains operation of Vicor’s resonant power topology, the sine
amplitude converter (SAC), the history behind its development, and the performance benefits it
provides in an intermediate bus converter (IBC). The paper begins with "A Brief History of
Computer Power Distribution"—the evolution from centralized power to distributed power, which
led to the intermediate bus architecture and Vicor’s alternative approach, the Factorized
Power Architecture for which the sine amplitude converter was developed. Operation of the SAC
topology is explained in comparison with hard switching PWM converters and also ZCS/ZVS
resonant converters. Paper concludes with features and benefits of the VI Brick IBCs, which use
the SAC topology.
What you’ll learn:
- How to understand operation of Vicor’s sine amplitude converters
- How to understand the evolution of Vicor’s factorized power architecture
Notes:
For more on the Factorized Power Architecture and its use of voltage transformation modules
(VTMs) and preregulator modules (PRMs), see “Factorized Power Architecture and V*I Chipsâ€
at www.vicorpower.com/fpa101/fpa101.pdf. Also, see “Distributed Power: Novel Architecture
Yields New Dc-Dc Building Blocks†Electronic Design magazine, April 28, 2003,
http://electronicdesign.com/issues/issue.aspx?IssueID=45. And for more on the SAC topology, see
“Sine Amplitude Converters: A New Class Of Topologies For Dc-Dc Conversion,†Electronic
Design magazine, October 27, 2003, http://electronicdesign.com/article/power/sine-amplitude-
converters-a-new-class-of-topologie.aspx. These ED articles were two of the earliest
discussions of Vicor’s FPA and SAC topology.
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