5-kilowatt lifeline at it. The gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC) specialist claims its new power supply unit (PSU) is the first to hit this wattage for next-gen AI data centers, and it’s already eyeing 12kW and beyond.
The Efficiency Edge
Why does 98% matter? Because every percentage point lost in a data center’s power supply turns into heat—and that heat costs real money to manage. Navitas’s PSU pairs its high-power GaNSafe ICs with Gen-3 Fast SiC MOSFETs in a three-phase interleaved PFC and LLC topology. That’s jargon for a smarter way to juggle current, slashing ripple and electromagnetic interference (EMI) while using 25% fewer GaN and SiC components than competing designs. Fewer parts, lower cost, less noise.
The 54V output complies with Open Compute Project and Open Rack v3 specs, meaning it slots straight into hyperscale infrastructure. Input voltage ranges from 180 to 264V AC, with a 12V standby rail and a hold-up time of 10ms at full load—20ms with an extender. Operating temp? A chilly -5°C to 45°C.
GaNSafe Gets Serious
The three-phase LLC topology leans heavily on Navitas’s fourth-generation GaNSafe platform. This isn’t your average GaN FET. It integrates control, drive, sensing, and protection—including short-circuit protection with 350ns max latency and 2kV ESD on all pins—all managed through just four pins. No VCC pin needed. It’s designed to be treated like a discrete FET, but with the smarts of a full power IC. Available in TOLL and TOLT packages for 1 to 22kW applications, with RDS(ON) ratings from 25 to 98mΩ.
On the SiC side, the three-phase interleaved continuous conduction mode (CCM) TP-PFC uses Gen-3 Fast MOSFETs with trench-assisted planar tech. Translation: they run cool, switch fast, and handle the brutal thermal demands of AI workloads without breaking a sweat.
The Data Center Reality Check
Navitas CEO Gene Sheridan didn’t mince words: “As many as 95% of the world’s data centers cannot support the power demands of servers running NVIDIA’s latest Blackwell GPUs.” That’s a staggering readiness gap. This 8.5kW PSU is a direct answer—and the roadmap points to 12kW and higher. If Navitas can deliver, it won’t just be a component upgrade; it’ll be the difference between data centers that can run the next wave of AI and those left in the dark.
