Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) say they developed a power supply unit with a significantly increased service life.
Switching power supplies are an integral part of electrical devices such as smartphones. In use, they convert the alternating current from the mains line into the direct current needed by the device.
The power supply unit may reduce maintenance expenditure of electric devices. Source: Markus Breig, KITSwitching supply units used today are typically lightweight and compact in design, but they also are susceptible to errors due to their use of electrolyte capacitors. Film capacitors would have longer service lives, the researchers said, but they need up to 10 times more space. Scientists at KIT's Light Technology Institute (LTI) developed a digital control method for use of film capacitors that need only slightly more space.
The control method runs on a microprocessor integrated within the supply unit and detects disturbing environmental impacts, enabling higher voltage fluctuations to be balanced. The researchers said that using these film capacitors eliminates electrolyte capacitors — the main cause of failure of power supplies. Depending on the device design, the service life may be increased by a factor of up to three.
This technology has only become feasible with the use of high-performance microprocessors, the researchers said. They said that the technology enables other advantages of digitization, such as remote maintenance and integration into the internet of things.
