[March 14, 2019] – At the OCP Summit 2019, the Power Stamp Alliance (PSA), which is creating collaborative solutions for 48V-to-low-voltage on-board DC-DC power converters, today published a new specification for a controller stamp that will improve the usability of satellite power stamps while reducing the component count for server manufacturers. A controller stamp includes all the control functionalities of a main stamp and, in place of the power conversion, adds bias voltage rails, eliminating the need for additional DC-DC converters on the board to provide bias voltage rails.
A controller stamp built to the PSA specification published today provides all the bias voltage rails and control signals required by satellite stamps. It is ideal for servers, storage and computing systems where space near the processor is limited. The host system would only need to provide the 48 volt source rail for the controller and satellite stamps, removing the need for any primary and secondary bias voltages.
PSA 48V direct conversion DC-DC modules – or ‘power stamps’ – primarily target advanced IT equipment and large data processing installations, many of which follow the principles of the Open Compute Project (OCP). The Power Stamp Alliance is being represented at the OCP Summit 2019 by its Founding Members, Artesyn Embedded Technologies, Bel Power Solutions, Flex, and STMicroelectronics.
Background Information
By creating and sharing a specification for a standard product footprint and functions, the Power Stamp Alliance has created a multi-vendor ecosystem to assure practical levels of alternate source capability to server and storage system manufacturers, while encouraging a competitive supply chain through differentiation in topology, circuitry, and performance from multiple, independent manufacturers.
Formally launched at the Open Compute Project (OCP) Summit in 2018 with the publication of specifications, drawings and pin-out descriptions for main and satellite power stamps, the Alliance has since also published a new Orcad Library and Allegro Footprint Package (Macro) to its website to enable designers to embed Power Stamps into their own schematic, along with the linked Allegro reference footprint for proper layout. Recently the Alliance announced the industry’s first graphical user interface (GUI) that developers can use with products from any member company, and a new reference design board for high-current ASIC and/or FPGA chipsets. Today, the PSA also announced a new reference design board for processors based on the next-generation 10 nm Intel® CPU microarchitecture, code-named “Ice Lake” by Intel®.
PSA reference design boards, power stamps and the GUI are available from PSA member representatives, who can be contacted via the Power Stamp Alliance website http://www.powerstamp.org/contact/.
About the Power Stamp Alliance
The Power Stamp Alliance has been formed to define a standard product footprint and functions that provide a multiple sourced, standard modular board-mounted solution for power conversion for 48Vin to low-voltage, high-current DC-DC applications. These 48V single-stage, direct-conversion DC-DC modules – or ‘power stamps’ – primarily target devices being used in large data centers (e.g. high-performance computers, ASICs, and FPGAs), many of which follow the principles of the Open Compute Project (OCP). The Founding Members of the Power Stamp Alliance are Artesyn Embedded Technologies, Bel Power Solutions, Flex, and STMicroelectronics.
