A 98.8%-efficiency, thermally-optimized 48 V-to-12 V DC–DC converter for high-power data centers

This work presents the design of a 48 V-to-12 V high-power DC–DC converter based on a resonant switched-capacitor topology. By employing zero-current switching (ZCS) control, the prototype achieves a peak efficiency of 98.8% and a full-load efficiency of 96.1% under a 70 A load condition. To address the stringent power delivery requirements in data center high-performance computing (HPC) applications, particular emphasis is placed on optimizing PCB stack-up and via structures. A comparative study of different substrate designs demonstrates that an optimized multilayer PCB architecture improves the conversion efficiency by an additional 1.5%, while reducing the temperature rise of key power devices by 9.6 °C. Experimental validation confirms that the proposed design not only achieves ultra-high conversion efficiency but also significantly enhances thermal performance. The converter consistently maintains excellent electrical characteristics and thermal stability across a wide load range, meeting the requirements of modern data center power systems for high efficiency, high power density, and high reliability.