(Friday, November 8th. 2024)
The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FMIPA) Padjadjaran University (Unpad) through the Electrical Engineering Study Program held an International Lecture entitled “Power Supply in the Era of Artificial Intelligence”, with resource person Owen Jong,., M.S. (Application Engineering Manager. Nano Watt Inc, Milpitas, California, USA) in the PPBS Building Hall, 2nd Floor. FMIPA Unpad. Friday, 08 November 2024.
Head of the Electrical Engineering Study Program FMIPA Unpad, Dr. Mohammad Taufik, M.Sc. During the celebration, he expressed his thanks to the speaker for coming and hoped that this event could strengthen friendship and increase scientific insight for students.
In the material session, the speaker explained, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a scientific field focused on developing computers or machines capable of learning and reasoning. AI has been rapidly advancing in recent times and is now present in almost every aspect of society. As AI progresses, so does the computational capacity of computers. This increase in computational power is often accompanied by a rise in power consumption. Therefore, it is essential to develop a more efficient power supply system, one of which is the Buck Converter.
Conventional power distribution systems in traditional computers use a 12V backplane system, where power from an electrical source (220VAC or higher) passes through a DC conversion stage at the Front End and is stepped down to 12V via a DC/DC conversion stage before being distributed to the Voltage Regulator Module (VRM) on the motherboard. However, this low voltage causes significant power losses, especially in data center computers with over 15 kW per server rack, as high current generates heat and reduces efficiency. As a solution, newer computers are shifting to a power distribution system with a 48V backplane, which requires lower current, thus reducing backplane losses by up to 1/16 compared to the 12V system.
Technological advancements in Buck Converters are essential to achieve this goal. Some developments that can be applied to Buck Converters include Resonant Converter, Matrix Transformer (Embedded in PCB), Coupled Inductor (TLVR) or Transformer Inductor Voltage Regulator, and Mos Driver (DrMOS).
