720-W isolated DC-DC quarter brick offers new power topology solution

Paul Buckley, EE Times Europe -- EDN, August 3, 2011

CUI Inc has started customer sampling for the NQB Series isolated DC-DC quarter brick based on the company's patented Solus Power Topology. As part of CUI’s Novum Advanced Power portfolio, the 720 W intermediate bus converter will initially support an input range of 36-60 V with an output of 12 V and will provide an efficiency greater than 96%.

NQB product will eventually support a wider input range as well as an output of 9.6 V. Additional features include options for DOSA 1st generation or 2nd generation footprint compatibility, remote on/off, and load share capability. The NQB Series aims to address the trend of rising power requirements and efficiency demands in telecom systems and data centers, supplying an industry leading power density of 445 W/in3 across the full 36-60 V input range.

CUI’s Solus Topology integrates a conventional buck converter into a SEPIC converter to form a totally new SEPIC-fed buck converter; a patented single stage topology with one magnetic element, one control switch and two commutation switches that are optimally controlled by pulse-width modulation (PWM). With lower voltage and current stresses in the topology coupled with an inherent GCE (gate charge extraction) process, Solus is able to reduce switching turn-on losses by 75% and switching turn-off losses by 99% on the control FET when compared to a conventional buck converter.

The Solus Topology further increases total efficiency by distributing the energy delivery into multiple paths, reducing circuit conduction losses by nearly 50%. With these advantages, CUI is now in a position to develop a wide range of ac-dc and dc-dc power conversion platforms with improved energy efficiency, faster transient response and increased power density versus the leading designs currently on the market.

CUI has been sampling the NQB product to select customers and will continue to provide engineering samples to select customers until full production release in Q1 2012.

Visit CUI at www.cui.com.

This article originally appeared on EE Times Europe.