From 800 V Distribution to Sub-1 V Processor Rails (Elektronik Praxis)

DOZER BITWELL: AI servers eat power in stages, and one company wants to show you every single one.

DOZER BITWELL: Still up? Good. Me too, mostly. Tonight we follow electricity down the stairs, from very high to very small. Let's ease into it. ▶

DR. VERA VECTOR: Elektronik Praxis reports that power in AI servers passes through several conversion stages, from high-voltage distribution down to the processor. ▶

DOZER BITWELL: Several stages. Like a long hallway to the kitchen. Where does EPC come in? Hang on, I lost my place. Thank you, teleprompter. ▶

DR. VERA VECTOR: At electronica in Munich, EPC will show a new 6 kW converter from 800 volts to 6 volts, aimed at bringing conversion closer to the processors. ▶

LUNA LOWBATT: And the part after that? The one that gets down to the chip itself. ▶

ADA: This is the fun bit. Gallium nitride switches fast, and fast switching means the whole stage can be small. I would love to hold one. Carefully, with tweezers. ▶

DOZER BITWELL: Tweezers. Lovely. So what do we still not know? Unscrewing the thermos, give me a second. ▶

DR. VERA VECTOR: Quite a lot. The announcement does not specify efficiency, power density or cooling requirements for the new 800-to-6-volt converter. ▶

DR. VERA VECTOR: It also gives no performance data for a full chain combining that converter with the Gen8 stages, and Gen8 is only a preview so far. ▶

LUNA LOWBATT: So a map with the middle torn out. I do some of my best thinking in the middle. Anyway, back to you, Dozer. ▶

DOZER BITWELL: Thank you, Luna. The show is in Munich in November, Hall C6. Until then, nobody can say how well the stairs work. Quiet night. ▶