ACADEMIA

Vicor introduced new thermal and mechanical mounting options for its IBC050 series of high performance quarter-brick VI BRICK intermediate bus converters (IBCs). Now available with an integral baseplate and multiple pin-length options, Vicor's high-efficiency IBCs afford customers even greater flexibility to meet the design challenges of high power applications such as enterprise computing and networking systems.

Utilizing its Sine Amplitude Converter topology, Vicor's IBCs deliver superior peak efficiency of 98%. Vicor's IBC open-frame package facilitates airflow above and below the modules to minimize the temperature rise of downstream components. For system designers faced with severe thermal challenges and/or space constraints, the new baseplate option provides the ability to attach a quarter-brick IBC to a heat sink or a cold plate as needed.

Vicor's quarter-brick and eighth-brick IBCs are pin compatible with industry standards and now available with pin lengths of 0.145, 0.180, and 0.210 inches (3.68, 4.57, and 5.33 millimeters respectively), to accommodate boards of varying thicknesses. Designers will thus be equipped with a wider range of choices to ensure seamless board-level compatibility when designing with Vicor's high efficiency IBCs.

Available as drop-in upgrades for industry standard 5:1 and 4:1 fixed ratio converters, Vicor's IBC050 series of 2.30 x 1.45 x 0.42 inch (58.4 x 36.8 x 10.5 mm) quarter-brick IBCs provide output power ranging from 600 to 850W to yield maximum usable power in thermally constrained systems, while freeing up valuable board space for high-value components. With eighth-brick power levels up to 500W, smaller Vicor IBC modules can replace competitive quarter-bricks, saving space. And, thanks to their unique 1 MHz high bandwidth operation, Vicor's IBCs cut transient response times by a factor of 10, eliminating the need for bulk capacitors across the intermediate bus, saving additional space.

"Vicor provides customers with higher efficiency, higher density products and the flexibility to meet their specific power management and system design requirements," said Robert Marchetti, Senior Manager of Product Marketing for Vicor's Brick Business Unit. "These new baseplate and pin-length options extend the versatility of our IBC050 series with thermal and mechanical mounting alternatives."

Designers can take advantage of Vicor's new IBC Power Simulation tool, an industry-first online simulation capability, to interactively model the electrical and thermal performance of Vicor's IBC modules in application-specific operating conditions and thermal environments.

Pricing and Availability Vicor IBC modules are priced at less than $0.09 per Watt in OEM quantities, and are available now.