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By: Rich Miron, Senior Technical Content Developer at DigiKey
The rise of AI is transforming data center compute into a high-value, energy-intensive resource. As AI workloads drive unprecedented demand for processing power, modern data centers are typically constrained by available power and cooling capacity rather than physical space or server count. Instead of planning around individual servers, operators now design facilities around megawatts of power and cooling, sizing entire rows or pods of racks to maximize compute density.
These shifts create new challenges for system designers. Product teams must deliver greater efficiency, higher power density and reliable operation while navigating infrastructure limitations, regulatory requirements, energy costs and other external constraints. Meeting these demands requires the right innovations in power conversion and tiered, hardware-timed supervision that protect both critical low-voltage rails and system-level auxiliary rails.
AI‑optimized racks often draw 30 kW or more, several times the 5-15 kW typical for traditional server racks, putting a single rack’s peak draw on par with a small residential neighborhood. Operating in this environment requires applications that can manage tightly provisioned power while keeping systems stable during sudden surges. Components, like those from Texas Instruments, demonstrate how modern designs can meet these new power and reliability requirements.
Designers can no longer assume that data center features will scale automatically. Every interaction, computation or data-intensive experience now has a tangible impact on the underlying systems. Features that trigger large, sudden workloads can introduce latency, cause throttling or require scaling trade-offs elsewhere in the system.
The most effective designs anticipate constraints rather than ignore them, delivering value while staying responsive under pressure and making every bit of compute count. Designers must weigh trade-offs between speed, functionality and efficiency, balancing user experience with the physical limitations of compute and energy.
Building efficiency, precision and resilience into the hardware is key to designing data center applications that deliver value without overloading systems. Applications must remain responsive under pressure and make every watt of compute count. This starts with components that manage power, monitor voltage and safeguard performance under sudden surges.
Gallium nitride (GaN) power technology is increasingly integral to optimizing data center efficiency. AI servers powered by NVIDIA graphics processing units (GPUs) consume large amounts of power that must be stepped down rapidly and precisely. Integrating a high-speed gate driver with a GaN field-effect transistor (FET) enables higher switching frequencies and lower switching losses than conventional silicon solutions. This improves power conversion efficiency at both the board and rack levels, reducing energy lost to heat, lowering cooling demand and enabling more compact power delivery circuits. Data centers benefit from higher compute density and better overall energy performance.
The TI LMG3100R017VBER (Figure 1) is a 100 V GaN FET with an integrated high-frequency gate driver in a compact package. It combines the GaN FET and driver, including an internal high-side level shifter and bootstrap circuit, allowing two devices to form a half-bridge without requiring an external level shifter.
GaN devices switch extremely fast and operate at high voltages. Rapid, large fluctuations common in high-density data center servers can cause voltage drops or spikes, leading to erratic operation, increased stress on GPUs and other components, along with potential downtime. Without proper monitoring, a GaN FET power stage could attempt to switch when the voltage is outside the safe range.
While critical high-voltage rails need fast-acting supervision, auxiliary rails require broader monitoring and sequencing of power system logic, I/O and cooling circuits to maintain overall system stability.
TI’s line of TPS3760 supervisor ICs (Figure 2) monitors a single, higher-voltage rail with a hardware-timed response and minimal overhead. While the manufacturer offers automotive models, designers targeting data center applications can select standard commercial versions like the TPS3760A015DYYR. These devices use precision internal voltage comparators to continuously monitor the rail voltage against a defined threshold and assert a reset signal if the voltage falls out of range.
TI’s TPS389006 family provides fast, precise supervision of low-voltage rails powering GPUs, CPUs and memory. For example, the TPS389006007RTER devices (Figure 3) monitor these rails in real time and immediately assert reset signals when voltage deviates from tight tolerances. Positioned near the point of load, they protect sensitive, high-current devices from transient faults and ensure stable operation during rapid load changes.
Together, these supervisor ICs help maintain reliable operation across the power system, from higher-voltage distribution to critical low-voltage components.
High-speed GaN power stages provide compact, low-loss power conversion with safe high-side switching. Supervisor ICs enable tiered, hardware-timed monitoring from critical low-voltage rails to higher-voltage system rails, ensuring proper sequencing and rapid fault response. By combining fast, efficient power conversion with layered supervision, designers can increase system density, reduce heat and energy waste, and maintain stable performance even under fluctuating workloads.
Rich Miron is a senior technical content developer at DigiKey. DigiKey is the global leader in electronic components and automation products distribution, providing more than 17.4 million components from over 3,000 quality name-brand manufacturers.