Under WAWT’s Power Supply Intelligence Service, we are pleased to provide a focused briefing on Brick Power Supplies—one of the most critical and fast-evolving segments within the DC-DC converter landscape.
What are Brick Power Supplies?
Brick power modules have become indispensable across various industries, including telecommunications, data centers, industrial automation, electric vehicles, medical systems, and aerospace. Under our research, we classify the DC-DC power converter market into three major product types: Bricks, Point-of-load (PoL), and ‘Others’. We define Bricks as DC-DC converters that can be mounted externally or directly onto a printed circuit board (PCB). The term “brick” originates from the module’s rectangular, brick-like shape, constructed as switched-mode power supplies, comprising components such as switching transistors, controllers, and energy storage devices.
Brick power supplies come in standardized sizes, allowing for scalable power solutions:
- Full Brick: 116.8 x 61.0 x 12.7 mm
- Half Brick: 58.4 x 61.0 x 12.7 mm
- Quarter Brick: 58.4 x 36.8 x 8.1 mm
- Eighth Brick: 29.2 x 36.8 x 10.4 mm
- Sixteenth Brick: 29.2 x 23.1 x 10.4 mm
Market Insights on Brick Power Supplies
On the market front, the demand for brick power supplies is showing a steady upward trajectory. According to estimates sourced from the internal vendor data file, the brick power supply market accounted for approximately $964 million in global revenue in 2023. This figure includes key players and technologies across the AC-DC and DC-DC conversion spectrum. Additionally, new entrants are targeting niche markets such as ruggedized defense applications and compact medical equipment, expanding the landscape further. The market will likely grow steadily, with much of the momentum driven by high-performance computing, telecom, and automotive electrification. To learn more about the major vendors operating in this space
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Form-factor trends show a clear shift toward more compact solutions: quarter-brick and eighth-brick units each held approximately 20% of revenue share in 2022 and are expected to remain the leading form factors. Notably, sixteenth-brick modules are projected to grow fastest, at a 7.1% CAGR through 2027, indicating market readiness for miniaturized, high-density solutions.
Regionally, Asia leads the global power supply market with a 63.4% revenue share, followed by the Americas at 21.1%. However, the Americas are projected to grow fastest through 2027 with a CAGR of 7.2%, driven largely by datacenter expansions and industrial automation investments.
Discussing Some Key Technological Advancements
Technological evolution in brick power supplies is also noteworthy. The integration of wide-bandgap semiconductors like GaN and SiC is enabling these modules to operate at higher switching frequencies while minimizing thermal losses–critical for next-generation applications. Furthermore, the move toward digital power management features, such as telemetry and adaptive load optimization, is enabling smart system-level control, particularly in mission-critical and space-constrained environments.
Another transformative development is the emergence of integrated DC-DC conversion modules. These “2-in-1” bricks unify power factor correction (PFC), wide AC input capability, and DC-DC isolation in a full-brick footprint. This integration can reduce board space requirements by up to 50%, streamline design architecture, and eliminate the need for discrete front-end stages. Such solutions are increasingly favored in distributed power systems for telecom, custom industrial PSUs, large LED displays, and smart infrastructure.
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In parallel, miniaturization and power density improvements have accelerated, as mentioned before. Innovations in magnetic components (e.g., special permalloy cores), transformer winding methods, and packaging have enabled remarkable advancements. Industry players have reached 96% peak efficiency, too. This meets the escalating performance requirements of telecom base stations and high-compute environments such as datacenters.
Digital control and programmability are also redefining the value proposition of brick modules. Advanced digital controllers now allow for dynamic voltage regulation, configurable control modes (voltage-mode, peak-current-mode), and digital telemetry. These capabilities enable remote performance tuning, advanced monitoring, current sharing, and predictive maintenance, adding significant system-level value in complex power architectures.
Thermal performance, however, remains a critical concern, particularly at higher power densities. Enhanced substrates and transformer topologies have improved thermal dissipation, enabling bricks to operate reliably in thermally demanding environments without significant performance degradation. These thermal advancements directly support increased operational reliability and lifecycle extension in high-stress applications.
Brick Power Supplies: Market Potential
Current developments reflect clear alignment between module capabilities and application needs. In edge computing and AI applications, brick converters’ high power density and digital telemetry address variable, instantaneous loads within constrained rack spaces. For Electric Vehicle (EV) infrastructure, DC-DC brick converters offer exceptional performance, operating effectively across a wide input voltage range and in harsh environmental conditions. Their standardized form factors allow for modular charger designs, enhancing both scalability and ease of maintenance in the field. These features contribute to the reliability and flexibility needed for the evolving EV charging infrastructure.
For industrial automation and robotics, DC-DC bricks are designed to meet the demanding needs of high-performance systems like servo motors and CNC drives. Their ability to respond quickly to voltage transients, along with galvanic isolation, ensures stable operation and protects sensitive equipment. Furthermore, digital monitoring capabilities enable predictive maintenance, which helps enhance the overall operational efficiency and uptime of critical machinery.
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In the medical and aerospace sectors, where compact size, isolation, and low electromagnetic interference (EMI) are essential, sixteenth-brick modules have emerged as a preferred solution. Despite having a smaller market share, these modules are experiencing rapid growth due to their ability to meet stringent safety standards and weight constraints.
Conclusion
Brick power supplies will likely maintain the largest revenue share of the DC-DC power supply market. After all, it’s an elementary segment and heavily standardized form factors. This, combined with ongoing improvements in efficiency and smart features, means faster product rollouts, lower development costs, and stronger after-sales support. And as discussed above, the market potential is anything but dwindling.
About Wired and Wireless Technologies (WAWT)
WAWT (Wired and Wireless Technologies), a strategic technology analyst and consultancy firm, specializes in the wireless power and power supply industry. Its comprehensive research and reports on the power supply industry, titled “AC-DC and DC-DC Merchant Power Supply Market Report” and “External Power Adapters and Chargers Market Report”, offer critical market data, trends, insights, and market intelligence. It provides the latest market size estimates and forecasts for the power supply market, benefiting companies across the power supply ecosystem.
The report analyses the market across various segments – by product; application sector (including servers, storage, networking, datacentres, telecom, medical, industrial, lighting, railways, etc); region; power class and others; and includes a detailed competitive analysis of power supply vendors looking at their market share. Furthermore, it ranks all profiles of power supply companies based on their revenues, across industry sectors, including datacentres.
WAWT‘s report is an invaluable resource for businesses seeking to understand the power supply landscape, make informed decisions, and stay competitive in this dynamic industry.
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