DCM3717 | First Look

Welcome to First Look, brought to you by DigiKey and Vicor. As power levels increase in data center, industrial, automotive, and other applications, designers are turning to 48V power delivery to reduce I2R losses in the power distribution network. Vicor’s DCM3717 is a 750W non-isolated regulated DC/DC converter module that allows designers to quickly convert 48V power to legacy 12V systems, enabling power delivery networks that are smaller, lighter and more efficient. Vicor’s DCM3717 accepts a semi-regulated 40V to 60V input and converts that to a regulated 12V output that can be trimmed from 10V to 13.5V, with 97% peak efficiency. It offers PMBus-compatible telemetry, fault protection, and parallel capability for up to 4 units. The modules measure 36.7 x 17.3 x 7.42 mm and combine multiple Vicor technologies to deliver size, weight, and efficiency advantages over conventional converter designs. The DCM3717 uses a two-stage powertrain. The first stage utilizes Vicor’s patented zero-voltage switching, or ZVS, buck-boost architecture. ZVS operation allows for larger step-down ratios and more efficient operation than traditional buck-boost converters, and in the DCM3717 this stage provides the output regulation. The second stage is a Sine Amplitude Converter, which is a transformer-based series resonant topology. This stage switches at 1.4MHz, resulting in a smaller transformer and increasing power density and efficiency. It also produces a very clean output noise spectrum that is easily filtered. The DCM3717 also leverages Vicor’s Surface Mount Converter housed in Package, or SM-ChiP technology. This packaging technology provides very low top- and bottom-side thermal impedances for more flexible thermal management.