Believe it or not, I have been known to waffle just a tad before getting to the point. So, suppose we flip things round. What would you say if I told you I was just introduced to AC-to-DC and DC-to-DC converters that dispense with things like bridge rectifiers, electrolytic capacitors, and inductors, and replace everything with small, cost-effective solid-state equivalents?
Now that I have your attention… back to the waffle (cease your moaning, groaning, whinging, and whining… you knew it was coming).
Increasingly, the subject of power seems to be slipping across the surface of my sensorium these days. On the power production side of things, we have renewables like solar energy, wind energy, and hydrokinetic energy (hydro energy, tidal energy, and wave energy). Also, small modular reactors (SMRs) are starting to come online. And there’s always hope that we will finally get commercial nuclear fusion working while I still maintain a corporeal presence on this plane of existence.
Then we have the power distribution network that transports power from where it’s coming to where it’s going. Eventually, we approach the power consumption end of the chain, where we find things like AC-to-DC and DC-to-DC converters.
The tube-based converters of the 1940s–1950s used bulky transformers and rectifiers. The introduction of transistors led to solid-state linear regulators in the 1950s–1960s. The development of integrated circuits facilitated integrated linear regulators in the 1960s–1970s (e.g., the LM78xx series in 1967). In the early 1970s, switch-mode power supply (SMPS) technology began appearing in aerospace and military applications due to its size and efficiency advantages. Throughout the 1980s–1990s, SMPS became widespread in PC power supplies, telecom, and industrial systems. And from the 2000s to the present, advanced gallium arsenide (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductor materials have been used to improve SMPS efficiency, enabling high-frequency, compact designs.
On the one hand, I think today’s power technologies are incredible. I’m a big fan. On the other hand, I sometimes have a niggling suspicion that everything we do on the power front seems a little “clunky,” as it were. When you think of the way power gets from its source to its destination… all the transmission lines and transformers and copper cables and converters and… stuff, I dare to hope that there may be something better waiting for us in the not-so-distant future. I know I read too much science fiction, but it would be wonderful if we could one day find a way to access unlimited power. A few example contenders off the top of my head might be as follows:
Quantum Entanglement Power Siphon (QEPS): This device could entangle energy states between parallel universes, siphoning power from a reality where energy is abundant. It would (obviously) employ quantum resonance tuning to pull energy without destabilizing either universe. And it could involve a “quantum harmonizer” that prevents catastrophic energy surges.
Zero-Point Multiversal Extractor: This would harvest vacuum energy, not from just our universe, but from multiple overlapping dimensions where quantum fluctuations are more intense. The device could manipulate the Casimir Effect across dimensions, creating an infinite energy reservoir. Advanced versions might allow selective tuning to different universes for optimal power output.
Brane-Tap Reactor: This is based on the brane-world theory (where our universe is a membrane floating in a higher-dimensional space). The reactor could “puncture” microscopic holes into an adjacent brane where energy laws differ, letting power spill into our reality. I think it goes without saying that we would also need to develop exotic matter stabilizers to prevent interdimensional collapse.
Tachyonic Energy Diverter: The idea here is to capture energy from a universe where the arrow of time runs in reverse. Since entropy is reversed there, energy would behave like a perpetual motion system when transferred here. Obviously, we would require chronal synchronization fields to stabilize the power draw, but that would be the easy part of the puzzle.
Quantum entanglement power siphon (not to scale) (Source: Leonardo.ai)
Of course, there are always naysayers—those who will point out that energy siphoning might disrupt the parallel universes, causing instability or even interdimensional war, that tapping too much power could attract higher-dimensional entities that “feed” on energy manipulation, and that the aforementioned devices might merge universes unpredictably, rewriting physics in dangerous ways. Well, yes, but I think we need to balance these risks against having a $0 utility bill. Fortunately, here in the US we have been blessed with an administration that is dedicated to reducing regulatory barriers to innovation (see also We Haven’t Got a Plan, So Nothing Can Go Wrong!).
I’m sorry. Where were we? Oh yes. I remember. I was going to tell you that I was just chatting with Thar Casey, who is the founder and CEO at AmberSemi. Thar is one of those Silicon Valley serial entrepreneurs who seem destined to enjoy serial successes. He likes to target technologies that are disruptive and that others ignore because they think they are impractical or unachievable.
Founded in 2017 with a focus on power conversion, the guys and gals at AmberSemi started by working on three foundational technologies:
Precision Sensing: Real-term sensing and reporting of system telemetry for improved intelligence and analysis.
Active Architectures: Innovative system architectures delivering superior conversion efficiency and power density.
Digital Control: Intelligent high speed control loops for improved response and protection, resulting in configurable products that allow precise tuning of the performance for the target application.
Based on these foundational technologies, the chaps and chapesses at AmberSemi turned their attention to AC-to-DC conversion. Many of today’s switch-mode power supplies still use bridge rectifiers to convert AC to DC before high-frequency switching. Also, they use electrolytic capacitors for bulk energy storage and smoothing the rectified DC before switching. And they use inductors for energy storage and transfer in buck, boost, flyback, and forward converters (these inductors are used in combination with capacitors to filter switching noise and ripple). The folks at AmberSemi dispense with all this and replace everything with a solid-state solution that they call an AC Direct DC Enabler (the SX version is illustrated below).
AmberSemi’s AC Direct DC Enabler solves many longstanding power supply issues (Source: AmberSemi)
The specs for this little SX scamp are enough to make any embedded system designer drool with delight (not a pretty sight): Wide AC input voltages (24VAC to 277VAC), delivers up to 5W non-isolated output power, regulated output voltages from 3.3VDC to 24VDC, efficiency up to 80%, low ripple with excellent load transient response, protections (over current, short circuit, under/over voltage, and temperature), and an extended operating temperature range (–40°C to +125°C). What’s not to love?
I’m reminded of a British comedian called Bob Monkhouse who famously said: “When I told my family and friends I wanted to be a comedian, they all laughed…[pause for effect]…they aren’t laughing now.”
Much the same thing happened to Thar. When the guys and gals at AmberSemi first started talking about their direct AC to DC technology, people laughed at them. Thar recalls reaching out to the TWIC (“Techo-Weenie in Charge”) at an LED lighting company. When the TWIC heard that AmberSemi turned AC into straight-line DC with no zero crossing artifacts resulting in no LED flicker, he laughed, said it was impossible, and hung up the phone. A little later, Thar shared a link to a slow-motion video comparing the TWIC’s LED lighting (which was flickering) with one powered by AmberSemi’s solution (which wasn’t). Suffice it to say that the TWIC’s not laughing now.
“But wait, there’s more!” I cry. “There can’t be!” you respond. “But there is!” I retort. Do you recall my column Next-Generation Power Technology for Data Center Accelerator Cards from a couple of weeks ago? In that article, we noted that today’s artificial intelligence (AI) accelerator cards typically have an AI processor in the middle, with the remainder of the board being occupied by power delivery and conversion components.
The power input to the board is 48VDC. This is first converted to 12VDC, which is subsequently stepped down to the point-of-load voltages. In the case of today’s boards, we can easily be looking at 1,000W for the board. If we assume an average point-of-load voltage of 1V, this equates to 1,000A, with 1,500A and 2,000A cards accelerating towards us (I’m sorry; I couldn’t help myself).
Well, literally while I was penning the above, I was alerted to a “hot off the press” release informing me that AmberSemi Targets Enhanced Power Efficiency for AI Chips in Data Centers with Development of 50VDC to 0.8VDC Solution. As we read in the release:
This solution will bring reduced size and eliminate conversion steps, enabling 50VDC to 0.8VDC power directly to the AI chip on the motherboard of data center servers — scalable to 1500A+. AmberSemi is developing this DC-DC conversion solution specifically based on requirements gathered directly from top data center operators and major solution providers with the goal of solving their problem for improved power utilization in data centers to better enable AI computing to scale faster, on the foundation of AmberSemi power technologies.
It is estimated that AmberSemi’s DC-DC solution takes today’s 81% efficiency from the rack input to the AI chip UP to 90%+ efficiency, a 9-point change or a 47% improvement over typical efficiency. For every 1 point of efficiency improvement, there is an equivalent savings of approximately $0.5 billion a year to the industry in the U.S. alone, which equates to a CO2 reduction of 1.7 million tons (global metrics are ~3X these numbers). A 9-point efficiency improvement in the U.S. would mean a $4 billion+ annual savings and carbon reduction of nearly 15 million+ tons of CO2 (equals a carbon offset of the state of Delaware packed with trees).
O-M-G, is all I can say. Can things get better? Why, yes they can, because we will be able to see all of this in action in just a few days’ time at APEC 2025, which will be taking place March 16 to 20 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA.
Thar’s Exhibitor Presentation on AmberSemi’s new 50VDC to 0.8VDC solution for data centers is Tuesday, March 18, from 3:45 to 4:15 in Theater 1 on the main show floor. Public demos of AmberSemi’s AC-DC conversion and switch control and protection platform will be held at booth #517. And private demos of AmberSemi’s new 50VDC to 0.8VDC solution will be available to select customers by appointment only (email Amber.DCtoDC@ambersi.com to request a demo and do so quickly because slots are limited).
Well, I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t expecting this at all. I have a sneaking suspicion that this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, and that we will be seeing a lot more of AmberSemi in the not-so-distant future.
