Texas Instruments has detailed a complete 800 VDC power architecture for future-generation AI data centers built around the NVIDIA 800 VDC reference design. TI says the goal is to simplify the power path while improving conversion efficiency and power density for AI server deployments that are pushing rack- and row-level power distribution toward higher voltages.
The centerpiece is an architecture that uses two conversion stages from 800 V to processor rails: an 800 V to 6 V isolated bus converter, followed by a 6 V to sub-1 V multiphase buck stage for GPU core power. Fewer stages can translate to fewer loss points and less heat to manage inside the rack, but it also concentrates a lot of performance and reliability requirements into each conversion block.
Reference designs shown for the 800 VDC power path
TI’s 800 VDC architecture includes multiple reference designs aimed at different points along the distribution and conversion chain:
An 800 V hot-swap controller is designed as a scalable hot-swap approach for input power protection on 800 V rails.
For the 800 V to 6 V step, TI described a DC/DC bus converter with integrated GaN power stages, rated at 97.6% peak efficiency and more than 2000 W/in3 power density, targeted at compute tray applications.
For the point-of-load stage, TI described a 6 V to sub-1 V multiphase buck converter for advanced GPU cores, with higher power density versus 12 V designs and dual-phase power stages.
Additional 800 V building blocks
Alongside the two-stage conversion chain, TI also described a 30 kW 800 V high power-density AC/DC power supply unit for AI servers, 800 V capacitor bank units (CBU) rated at 40 W/in3 power density using EDLC super capacitor cells, and an 800 V to 12 V DC/DC bus converter for compute tray power conversion.
“Our advanced 800 VDC architecture represents a critical breakthrough that enables data center operators to meet today’s power challenges while preparing for tomorrow’s AI workloads,” said Kannan Soundarapandian, vice president and general manager of high-voltage power at TI.
Source: Texas Instruments
