At the renowned Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC) 2025 in Atlanta – the world’s largest power electronics conference with over 6,000 attendees – Joseph Winkler, a doctoral researcher at IMS, presented his latest survey titled “Survey of Components and Topologies for High-Efficiency and High-Power Density 48V DC-DC Converters.”
As electrification continues to advance – from autonomous vehicles to high-performance data centers – 48V power architectures are gaining increasing attention. Joseph's survey provides a systematic overview of real components and converter topologies, highlighting how the deliberate selection of passive components and power semiconductors can achieve both high efficiency and power density simultaneously.
For instance, multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs), when considering derating mechanisms, offer up to 200 times higher energy density compared to power inductors. Discrete GaN transistors also stand out with superior volumetric conductivity compared to traditional silicon devices – a decisive advantage for compact designs.
The survey identifies hybrid switched-capacitor topologies as particularly promising, combining high efficiency, excellent power density, and scalability for applications with large output currents. The comprehensive dataset is publicly available at the following link: GitHub-Link
The IMS congratulates Joseph Winkler on his successful conference contribution. He is pursuing his PhD in the Mixed-Signal Circuits (MX) group under the supervision of Prof. Bernhard Wicht.
