Rad-tolerant, 100V to 0.8V satellite evaluation board
High density power conversion for MEO and LEO satellites
Vicor radiation-tolerant modules enable the ideal Power Delivery Network (PDN) for today’s LEO and MEO satellites, providing high efficiency, high power density, and low-noise voltage conversion to power advanced network communication ASICs, FPGAs, and processors. The Factorized Power Architecture (FPA™) – which separates regulation and transformation so each can be accomplished in the most efficient manner – enables superior power system density and high-current demands to keep pace with rapidly advancing CPU, GPU and ASIC technologies.
Features and benefits
Low noise
High efficiency with low heat dissipation
Modular factorized power architecture
High power and current density
100V to 0.8V evaluation board
The Vicor rad-tolerant satellite 100V to 0.8V evaluation board is a demonstration vehicle for an isolated high‑voltage (100V) input to low-voltage (0.8V) output, 150A high-efficiency, fault-tolerant point‑of‑load power supply for LEO and MEO satellite applications. The dual-powertrain module-based power supply topology is intended for use in demanding space applications to power low-voltage (0.8V nominal), high-current (150A) systems, including FPGAs, low‑power processors and other mission‑critical equipment. Overall peak efficiency for the power system – including the combination of BCM, PRM and VTM high performance power modules – operating from an unregulated DC source and supplying a regulated, low-voltage DC output is 89% (100V:3.4V at 50A transformation) and 87.3% (100V:0.8V at 150A transformation).
Radiation tolerance
- Total ionizing dose: Modules are rad-tolerant to 50krad
- Single-event effects: Survival LET up to 50MeV•cm2/mg, dual powertrain ensures power integrity during upsets
Vicor products on this evaluation board
BCM3423 bus converter module
Isolated fixed-ratio
Input: 100V (94 – 105V, 120V transient)
Output: 33V (31 – 35V)
Power: 400W
K factor: 1/3
Peak efficiency: 96%
33.5 x 23.1 x 7.4mm
26g
50krad, 35MeV•cm2/mg
PRM2919 regulator module
Non-isolated regulated
Input: 33V (30 – 36V)
Output: 25V (13.4 – 35V)
Power: 200W
Current: IOUT 7.69A
Peak efficiency: 97.5%
29.2 x 19.0 x 7.4mm
18.2g
50krad, 35MeV•cm2/mg
VTM2919 0.8V, 150A voltage transformation module
Isolated fixed-ratio
Input: 25V (13.4 – 35V)
Output: 0.42 – 1.1V
Current: 150A
K factor: 1/32
Peak efficiency: 94.3%
29.2 x 19.0 x 4.9mm
13.3g
50krad, 35MeV•cm2/mg
System design advantages
System design advantages
- 50% less board real estate consumption near the CPU/GPU by the power delivery components
- Reduction by an order of magnitude in PDN and associated board losses
- Unfettered performance by placing the PRM in non-critical board edge areas
- Simplified CPU I/O routing
- Low noise performance of the VTM mitigates the risk of placement near the processor’s SerDes
