Silicon-on-sapphire could yield 20MHz DC-DC converters, claimed San Diego SoS specialist Peregrine Semiconductor, best known for its RF chips.
With SoS processes, the usual semiconducting silicon wafer is replaced with fully-insulating sapphire - crystalline aluminium oxide.
"If you remove the silicon, you can run the converter at much higher frequencies," said Rodd Novak, the firm's chief marketing officer. "If you run at 20MHz, the GSM phone frequency, the capacitor almost disappears. Although the inductor is still easier to embed in the laminate as it will take up too much room on a chip."
The firm is planning an initial product: a radiation-hardened DC-DC converter running at 5-7MHz using an established 0.5µm rad-hard process.
"The frequency is trackable and can be modified depending on the frequency plan. It will replace bricks on satellites and LDOs." said Novak.
The firm already has a suitable SoS power switch, he added: "we have a switch that handles 50dBm, that is 100W."
This involves electrically 'stacking' high-current low-voltage transistors to get an appropriate break-down voltage - something that is straightforward with a fully-insulating substrate as side-by-side devices can be operated with no leakage so they share voltage evenly, claimed Novak.
Changes are needed in the notoriously conservative space fraternity before SoS power ICs fly.
"Local DC-DC will take some time to re-architect the satellites." said Novak.