In order to support “Kyber” rack-scale systems that power their GPUs, like Rubin Ultra, made possible by GaNFast and GeneSiC power technologies, Navitas Semiconductor announced a partnership with NVIDIA on their next-generation 800 V HVDC architecture.
In order to guarantee increased reliability, productivity, and decreased infrastructure complexity, NVIDIA 800V DC architecture seeks to create high-efficiency, scalable power supply for workloads involving next-generation AI.
The current data center architecture is limited to a few hundred kilowatts (kW) and uses conventional 54 V in-rack power distribution. This low-voltage electricity must be transferred from the rack-mounted power shelves to the compute trays via bulky copper busbars. Due to power density, copper requirements, and decreased system efficiency, this architecture physically limits power above 200 kW.
Because AI processing is becoming more and more necessary, modern AI data centers need gigawatts (GW) of power. Nvidia’s strategy eliminates many AC/DC and DC/DC conversion processes, increasing efficiency and dependability, by immediately converting the 13.8 kV AC grid power to NVIDIA 800 V HVDC at the data center perimeter utilizing solid state transformers (SST) and industrial-grade rectifiers.
Because of I2R losses, which allow the same amount of power to be provided with higher voltage and lower current, copper wire thickness can be lowered by up to 45% as a result of the higher voltage level of 800 V HVDC. A 1MW rack would require more than 200 kg of copper to power using a conventional 54V DC system, which is unsustainable for next-generation AI data centers with GW power demands.
DC-DC converters transform the 800V HVDC into lower voltages that can operate GPUs like the Rubin Ultra. This eliminates the need for extra AC-DC converters by powering the IT racks directly.
Navitas is an established company in AI data center solutions enabled by GaN and SiC technology. The high-power GaNSafe™ power ICs integrate control, drive, sensing, and critical protection features, enabling unprecedented reliability and robustness.
GaNSafe is the world’s safest GaN with short-circuit protection (350ns max latency), 2kV ESD protection on all pins, elimination of negative gate drive, and programmable slew rate control. All these features are controlled with 4-pins, allowing the package to be treated like a discrete GaN FET, requiring no VCC pin.
Additionally, Navitas offers a family of medium voltage (80-120V) GaN devices, which have been optimized for secondary side DC-DC conversion, delivering high-speed, high efficiency, and small footprint, for AI data centers PSUs with outputs of 48V-54V.
Enabled by 20 years of SiC innovation leadership, GeneSiC proprietary ‘trench-assisted planar’ technology provides world-leading performance over temperature, delivering high-speed, cool-running operation for high-power, high-reliability applications. G3F SiC MOSFETs deliver high-efficiency with high-speed performance, enabling up to 25°C lower case temperature, and up to 3x longer life than SiC products from other vendors.
Offering the industry’s broadest voltage range – stretching from 650 V to ultra-high voltages of 2.3 kV to 6.5 kV, the SiC technology has been implemented in multiple projects for MW energy storage and grid-tied inverters with the Department of Energy (DoE).
In August 2023, Navitas introduced a high-speed, high-efficiency 3.2 kW CRPS, achieving a 40% smaller size than best-in-class, legacy silicon solutions for power-hungry AI and Edge computing. This was followed by the world’s highest power density 4.5 kW CRPS, achieving a ground-breaking 137 W/in3, and an efficiency of over 97%.
In November 2024, Navitas released the world’s first 8.5 kW AI data center power supply, powered by GaN and SiC that could meet 98% efficiency, complying with the Open Compute Project (OCP) and Open Rack v3 (ORv3) specifications.
Additionally, Navitas created IntelliWeave, an innovative patented new digital control technique, that when combined with high-power GaNSafe and Gen 3-Fast SiC MOSFETs, enables PFC peak efficiencies to 99.3% and reduces power losses by 30% compared to existing solutions.
Alongside the Computex exhibition in Taiwan, the latest release of their 12 kW PSU was presented at the Navitas ‘AI Tech Night’ on 21st May.
Leadership Comments
“We are proud to be selected by NVIDIA to collaborate on their NVIDIA 800 HVDC architecture initiative. Our latest innovations in high-power GaN and SiC technologies have seen world firsts and have created new inflections into markets such as AI datacenters and electric vehicles”, said Gene Sheridan, CEO and co-founder of Navitas. “With our wide portfolio range, we can support NVIDIA 800V HVDC infrastructure, from grid to the GPU. We appreciate that NVIDIA recognizes our technology and commitment to driving the next generation of data center power delivery.”
NVIDIA 800 V HVDC
NVIDIA 800V HVDC architecture will improve end-to-end power efficiency up to 5%, reduce maintenance costs by 70% (due to fewer PSU failures), and lower cooling costs by directly connecting HVDC to the IT and compute racks.
To read NVIDIA’s technical blog, please click here.
For more information on Navitas’ AI roadmap, please visit here
