Our design solution is a synchronous, half-bridge, GaN buck converter. It is capable of delivering up to 200W to the load. The switches are driven by complementary PWM signals generated by a TI DSP.

In most data centers today, the cost of power outweighs that of the equipment and maintenance, so reducing power loss by making the delivery system more efficient could save companies millions of dollars per year. In 2014, data centers consumed 70 billion kWh, which is 1.8% of the total national electricity consumption. Unfortunately, not all this energy is delivered to the actual load, the microprocessor. Our design hopes to improve on existing power converters by achieving an efficiency greater than 97%, which is the current standard for 48V to 12V conversion.