681a74deef28bcb416ac0a32 Industrial Dreamstime L 54297341

Non-Isolated DCMs Shrink Converter Size Sixfold

May 6, 2025

High-density power modules developed by Vicor make it possible to bridge 48-V and legacy 12-V power buses in industrial, HPC, and other applications.

Lee Goldberg

Related To:

Electronic Design

Vicor’s new non-isolated, regulated DC-DC converter modules (DCMs) are low-profile-package (SM ChiP) devices that offer a 6X reduction in size over a conventional converter. They can be utilized to establish a 12-V bus or used with legacy, downstream point-of-load (PoL) converters. The DCMs are well-suited for bridging 48-V and legacy 12-V power buses in industrial, aerospace and defense, and high-performance-computing (HPC) applications.

Vicor’s non-isolated, regulated DC-DC converter modules (DCMs).

These devices operate from a 40- to 60-V input, generate a regulated 12-V output, and are adjustable from 10 to 12.5 V. Leveraging the company’s proprietary high-frequency switching technology, the modules can deliver high efficiency across a wide range of line and load conditions.

The DCMs support up to 2,000 W and can be paralleled to attain higher power levels. They are complete converter solutions that require minimal external components, yielding even higher power density for the complete power-delivery network.

Click here for product details.

About the Author

Lee Goldberg | Contributing Editor

Lee Goldberg is a self-identified “Recovering Engineer,” Maker/Hacker, Green-Tech Maven, Aviator, Gadfly, and Geek Dad. He spent the first 18 years of his career helping design microprocessors, embedded systems, renewable energy applications, and the occasional interplanetary spacecraft. After trading his ‘scope and soldering iron for a keyboard and a second career as a tech journalist, he’s spent the next two decades at several print and online engineering publications.

Lee’s current focus is power electronics, especially the technologies involved with energy efficiency, energy management, and renewable energy. This dovetails with his coverage of sustainable technologies and various environmental and social issues within the engineering community that he began in 1996. Lee also covers 3D printers, open-source hardware, and other Maker/Hacker technologies.

Lee holds a BSEE in Electrical Engineering from Thomas Edison College, and participated in a colloquium on technology, society, and the environment at Goddard College’s Institute for Social Ecology. His book, “Green Electronics/Green Bottom Line - A Commonsense Guide To Environmentally Responsible Engineering and Management,” was published by Newnes Press.

Lee, his wife Catherine, and his daughter Anwyn currently reside in the outskirts of Princeton N.J., where they masquerade as a typical suburban family.

Lee also writes the regular PowerBites series.