Performance, Cost and Reliability Considerations in a MicroTCA Power System

Micro Telecommunications Computing Architecture (MicroTCA) is a relatively new architectural specification for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) equipment, and a complement to the Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture (AdvancedTCA) specification. After a brief summary of the history of these architectures and a comparison of the two, this paper discusses the MicroTCA power system in detail, with emphasis on the MicroTCA power module. It is shown that design considerations within the MicroTCA power module can have a significant effect on the performance, cost and reliability of the resulting MicroTCA system.

The paper serves as a tutorial to MicroTCA power systems for those who are knowledgeable about contemporary power system design, but are considering their first designs to the MicroTCA specification.