New Chip Design Aims to Boost Data Center Power Efficiency

UC San Diego engineers develop a more efficient voltage conversion chip for graphics processing units (GPUs) in data centers.

Apr. 9, 2026 at 3:07am

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A highly detailed, glowing 3D macro illustration of a futuristic data center circuit board, with intricate neon cyan and magenta lights illuminating the complex digital infrastructure, conceptually representing the improved power conversion technology.A new chip design aims to boost the power efficiency of data centers by improving how graphics processing units (GPUs) convert and manage electricity.San Diego Today

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have created a new chip design that could improve how graphics processing units (GPUs) in data centers convert and manage power. The prototype chip demonstrated high efficiency in performing the critical task of converting high voltages into lower levels required by computing hardware, which could lead to the development of smaller and more energy-efficient systems for advanced computing.

Why it matters

As data centers continue to face rising energy demands, improving the efficiency of power conversion is crucial. This new chip design offers a promising alternative to traditional step-down converters that are approaching their physical performance limits, potentially enabling more sustainable and scalable data center operations.

The details

The chip design combines a piezoelectric resonator with small, commercially available capacitors to create a more efficient step-down converter that can handle large voltage differences. In tests, the prototype chip converted 48 volts down to 4.8 volts, a common requirement in data centers, with a peak efficiency of 96.2% and four times more output current than earlier piezoelectric-based designs.

  • The research was published in Nature Communications in April 2026.

The players

University of California San Diego

A public research university located in San Diego, California.

Patrick Mercier

Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering and the senior author of the study.

Jae-Young Ko

An electrical and computer engineering Ph.D. student at UC San Diego and the first author of the study.

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What they’re saying

“We've gotten so good at designing inductive converters that there's not really much room left to improve them to meet future needs.”

— Patrick Mercier, Professor

“Piezoelectric-based converters aren't quite ready to replace existing power converter technologies yet, but they offer a trajectory for improvement. We need to continue to improve on multiple areas — materials, circuits and packaging — to make this technology ready for data center applications.”

— Patrick Mercier, Professor

What’s next

The researchers plan to focus on improving materials, circuit design, and packaging to further develop the piezoelectric-based converter technology for data center applications.

The takeaway

This new chip design represents an important step towards overcoming the limitations of traditional power converters and could enable more energy-efficient and sustainable data center operations in the future.