{"id":35891,"date":"2026-04-09T08:59:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T08:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/?p=35891"},"modified":"2026-04-09T15:59:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T15:59:13","slug":"new-uc-san-diego-chip-design-could-cut-data-center-power-waste","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/new-uc-san-diego-chip-design-could-cut-data-center-power-waste\/","title":{"rendered":"New UC San Diego Chip Design Could Cut Data Center Power Waste"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-blockquote uagb-block-e7eb3fc3 uagb-blockquote__skin-border uagb-blockquote__stack-img-none\"><blockquote class=\"uagb-blockquote\"><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__content\">As data centers consume ever more electricity, UC San Diego engineers have built a prototype chip that converts power far more efficiently using a hybrid piezoelectric design. The work could pave the way for smaller, cooler and more sustainable computing hardware.<\/div><footer><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__author-wrap uagb-blockquote__author-at-left\"><\/div><\/footer><\/blockquote><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-content-justification-space-between is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-0dfbf163 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><div style=\"font-size:16px;\" class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-post-author\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-author__content\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-author__name\">The University Network<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share uagb-social-share__outer-wrap uagb-social-share__layout-horizontal uagb-block-ee584a31\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-ec619ce7\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"facebook\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M504 256C504 119 393 8 256 8S8 119 8 256c0 123.8 90.69 226.4 209.3 245V327.7h-63V256h63v-54.64c0-62.15 37-96.48 93.67-96.48 27.14 0 55.52 4.84 55.52 4.84v61h-31.28c-30.8 0-40.41 19.12-40.41 38.73V256h68.78l-11 71.69h-57.78V501C413.3 482.4 504 379.8 504 256z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-32d99934\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"twitter\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M389.2 48h70.6L305.6 224.2 487 464H345L233.7 318.6 106.5 464H35.8L200.7 275.5 26.8 48H172.4L272.9 180.9 389.2 48zM364.4 421.8h39.1L151.1 88h-42L364.4 421.8z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-1d136f14\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"linkedin\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M416 32H31.9C14.3 32 0 46.5 0 64.3v383.4C0 465.5 14.3 480 31.9 480H416c17.6 0 32-14.5 32-32.3V64.3c0-17.8-14.4-32.3-32-32.3zM135.4 416H69V202.2h66.5V416zm-33.2-243c-21.3 0-38.5-17.3-38.5-38.5S80.9 96 102.2 96c21.2 0 38.5 17.3 38.5 38.5 0 21.3-17.2 38.5-38.5 38.5zm282.1 243h-66.4V312c0-24.8-.5-56.7-34.5-56.7-34.6 0-39.9 27-39.9 54.9V416h-66.4V202.2h63.7v29.2h.9c8.9-16.8 30.6-34.5 62.9-34.5 67.2 0 79.7 44.3 79.7 101.9V416z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Data centers that power cloud computing, AI and streaming services are devouring electricity at a growing pace. A new chip design from University of California San Diego engineers aims to make that power use much more efficient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The team has built a prototype chip that performs one of the most basic but critical jobs in electronics: turning high voltages from a power source into the much lower voltages that processors and memory actually use. In lab tests, the chip handled the kind of voltage conversion used in modern data centers with very high efficiency, pointing to a possible path toward smaller, cooler and more sustainable computing systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:15px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"466\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/UCSD-Mercier-chip-stack.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-35915\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/UCSD-Mercier-chip-stack.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/UCSD-Mercier-chip-stack-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>Caption:<\/em> A chip designed to convert high voltages into lower levels in electronics \u2014 a process known as DC-DC step-down conversion \u2014 more efficiently using a piezoelectric resonator.<em> <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>Credit: <\/em>David Baillot\/UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:4px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The work, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41467-026-70494-0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">published<\/a> in <em>Nature Communications<\/em>, focuses on a circuit block called a DC-DC step-down converter. This component sits between a power supply and sensitive electronics, acting like a smart valve that reduces voltage to exactly the level a chip needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In many data centers, power is distributed at about 48 volts to reduce losses as electricity travels across racks of servers. But the graphics processing units, or GPUs, that run AI models and graphics workloads typically operate at just 1 to 5 volts. Bridging that gap efficiently, in very tight spaces on crowded circuit boards, has become a major engineering challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most of today\u2019s step-down converters rely on magnetic components called inductors. These have been optimized for decades, but they are now running into physical limits, especially when asked to handle large differences between input and output voltage without wasting energy or taking up too much space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve gotten so good at designing inductive converters that there\u2019s not really much room left to improve them to meet future needs,\u201d senior author Patrick Mercier, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, said in a news release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To break through those limits, Mercier and his team, including first author and doctoral student Jae-Young Ko, turned to a different kind of device: piezoelectric resonators. These tiny components store and move energy through mechanical vibrations rather than magnetic fields. In principle, they can be made very small, pack a lot of power into a compact footprint and be easier to manufacture at scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:16px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"467\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/UCSD-Mercier-chip.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-35918\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/UCSD-Mercier-chip.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/UCSD-Mercier-chip-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>Caption:<\/em> The new DC-DC step-down conversion chip shown on a U.S. penny for scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em> Credit: <\/em>David Baillot\/UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:3px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Mercier added that compared with traditional inductive converters, piezoelectric-based designs \u201chave a lot of room to grow and have the potential to deliver better performance than anything that\u2019s come before them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Early versions of piezoelectric converters, however, have struggled when asked to handle large voltage drops, such as from 48 volts down to a few volts. They often lose efficiency and cannot deliver enough current to feed power-hungry processors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The UC San Diego team\u2019s key advance is a hybrid circuit that combines a piezoelectric resonator with a network of small, commercially available capacitors arranged in a carefully engineered way. This architecture creates multiple paths for power to flow, reduces wasted energy and lightens the load on the vibrating resonator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The researchers implemented this design in a prototype chip and tested it on a demanding task: converting 48 volts down to 4.8 volts, a level commonly used in data center hardware. The chip reached a peak efficiency of 96.2% and delivered about four times more output current than earlier piezoelectric-based converters, according to the team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those numbers suggest that hybrid piezoelectric converters could one day rival or surpass the performance of today\u2019s best magnetic-based converters, while potentially shrinking the size of power management circuits on boards packed with GPUs and other processors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Better power conversion is not just an engineering nicety. As AI models grow larger and more complex, data centers are adding racks of GPUs and other accelerators, driving up electricity use and heat output. Improving the efficiency of every step in the power chain, from the grid down to the chip, is one of the most direct ways to curb that growth in energy demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The new design is still at the research stage, and there are practical hurdles before it can be deployed in commercial systems. One major challenge is packaging, Mercier explained. Because piezoelectric resonators physically vibrate as they operate, they cannot simply be soldered onto circuit boards using standard techniques without risking damage or performance loss. New integration strategies will be needed to embed them reliably into real-world hardware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mercier is clear that the technology is not ready to drop into data centers yet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPiezoelectric-based converters aren\u2019t quite ready to replace existing power converter technologies yet,\u201d Mercier said. \u201cBut they offer a trajectory for improvement. We need to continue to improve on multiple areas \u2014 materials, circuits and packaging \u2014 to make this technology ready for data center applications.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Future work will focus on refining the materials used in the resonators, optimizing the circuit design for even higher power levels and efficiency, and developing packaging methods that protect the vibrating components while allowing them to be integrated into standard electronic systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If those efforts succeed, tomorrow\u2019s AI servers and cloud platforms could run on power electronics that waste far less energy, helping data centers keep up with demand without sending electricity use through the roof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:11px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/today.ucsd.edu\/story\/new-chip-design-could-boost-efficiency-of-power-management-in-data-centers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">University of California San Diego<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As data centers consume ever more electricity, UC San Diego engineers have built a prototype chip that converts power far more efficiently using a hybrid piezoelectric design. The work could pave the way for smaller, cooler and more sustainable computing hardware.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-no-separators","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[206],"class_list":["post-35891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tech","tag-uc-san-diego"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"The University Network","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/author\/funky_junkie\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"As data centers consume ever more electricity, UC San Diego engineers have built a prototype chip that converts power far more efficiently using a hybrid piezoelectric design. The work could pave the way for smaller, cooler and more sustainable computing hardware.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35891"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35891\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35924,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35891\/revisions\/35924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}