Hampshire, England: A 500W output, full-brick flexible converter designed by Powerstax provides both conventional step-down voltage conversion as well as the more unusual step-up conversion. A patented “integrated magnetic” is the key to the converter’s design. It combines the transformer and inductors on a single assembly, allowing for high-efficiency conversion and simple-to-achieve custom voltage configurations.
The F501 has a power density of 5.53W/cm3 (90W/in3) and up to 90% efficiencies. With fixed-frequency operation and low ripple, the converter is suited for the telecoms and IT industries. The built-in protection functions—overvoltage protection, undervoltage protection, and short-circuit protection—are complemented by features such as a thermal monitoring signal to provide early warning of potential system faults.
The F501 dc-dc converters carry a two-year warranty and are fully safety-agency approved. Features include a standard full brick package 116.8mm by 61mm by 12.7mm (4.6in by 2.4in by 0.50in), low input and output ripple currents, input transient voltage protection, thermal monitoring voltage to provide early warning of system fault, and single connection for parallel operation to provide true N+1 redundancy capability. There’s no need for master/slave operation.
Among other features are external synchronization facility, hot-plug-in capability, remote sensing, remote shutdown, wide input voltage range, output current monitor voltage, thermal protection, and current-limit protection. A STEP-UP version is also available (e.g. 12Vi to 28Vo).
Typical applications for the F501 include military and commercial vehicle-based mobile wireless, radar systems and communication systems, telecomm infrastructure, and security systems.
Says Tim Worley, CEO of Powerstax, “Our F501 high-efficiency converter gives power system designers enormous versatility and space saving in a cost-effective package. It represents a major achievement in the development of high-power, high-density dc-dc converter modules. By simply combining a number of F501s in series, a dc output up to 1200V may be created from a 12V input, and up to 8kW of output power can be obtained by running them in parallel.”