Vicor Corp. has entered into a non-exclusive license with Sony Corp. relating to Vicor's Factorized Power Architecture—V•I Chip power converters and the enabling technologies and semiconductor components used in V•I Chips.
The license grants Sony the rights to design and manufacture power converters, using V•I Chip technology and Factorized Power, for use within its products and for sale to its customers in certain agreed-upon applications. Royalties are based upon the value of licensed converters used or sold.
The license also grants Sony rights to manufacture certain semiconductor components that are used in V•I Chips. Vicor will have rights to purchase those semiconductor components from Sony. Picor Corp., a subsidiary of Vicor, and Great Wall Semiconductor, an independent company of which Vicor is a minority owner, developed the referenced semiconductor components and are parties to the license. The license has a term of 10 years and is renewable thereafter.
V•I Chips achieve a maximum power density greater than 1000 W/cu in., processing up to 300 W with 97% efficiency in SMD or BGA packages that occupy less than 0.25 cu in. One class of V•I Chips, called VTMs, provide isolation, voltage division and current multiplication. VTMs respond to instantaneous step changes in load current, by as much as 100 A per VTM, in a fraction of a millionth of a second, supporting stable voltages at the point of load. Another class of V•I Chips, called PRMs, act as efficient front-end pre-regulators. In combination, V•I Chips and FPA are setting new standards for density, conversion efficiency and speed.
For more information, visit www.vicorpower.com.