Professional Documents
Culture Documents
NOVEMBER 2005
A Digital Power Revolution
I2C Bus
Z-Series Digital Power Manager
■ Programs and manages Z-POL™ converters.
■ Monitors intermediate bus, accepts external
interrupts, and initiates crowbar protection.
Single-wire Z-One Digital Bus ■ Facilitates Z-POL performance telemetry for
48V remote monitoring and fault management.
it has never been easier to start developing with PIC microcontrollers! Visit our web site to enter
the Start Now Design
Contest!
Flash Capture/
Program Compare/
Product Program Pin Memory Internal Pulse-Width nanoWatt Data
Architecture Series Word Count (Bytes) Oscillator ADC Comparators Modulation Technology† EE
PIC10F 12-bit 6 384 to 768 4 to 8 MHz 8-bit •
Cost-Effective
PIC12F 12-bit 8 768 to 1536 4 to 8 MHz 8-bit •
Baseline
PIC Microcontroller* 14 to
PIC16F 12-bit 768 to 2048 4 to 8 MHz 8-bit •
40
1792 to
Peripheral-Rich PIC12F 14-bit 8 32 kHz to 8 MHz 10-bit • • • •
2048
Mid-Range
PIC Microcontroller 14 to 1792 to
PIC16F 14-bit 32 kHz to 8 MHz 10-bit • • • •
64 14336
*Easily migratable to Mid-Range PIC Microcontroller Architecture; † Microchip’s proprietary low power technology.
www.microchip.com/StartNow
Start Now with a career at Microchip! Visit www.microchip.com/careers for a current listing of open positions throughout the world.
The Microchip name and logo, the Microchip logo and PIC are registered trademarks of Microchip Technology Incorporated in the USA and in other countries. PICkit is a trademark of Microchip Technology
Incorporated in the U.S.A. and other countries. ©2005 Microchip Technology Incorporated.
Enter xx Allat
rights reserved.
www.edn.com/info
PART FOUR: EMBEDDED POWER
6
Letter from the Editor
Reed Business Information
225 Wyman Street, Waltham, MA 02451
Phone: (781) 734-8000
www.edn.com
9
Embedded Power
EDN Worldwide
Stephen Moylan, President, Supplies Reach New Heights
Boston Division/Publishing Director
Phone: (781) 734-8431
Fax: (781) 290-3431
smoylan@reedbusiness.com
16
Web/CPS Production Coordinator
Phone: (781) 734-8448
Fax: (781) 290-3448
hwiggins@reedbusiness.com
AC Powering
Contributing Editors: Semiconductor Growth
Linnea C. Brush
Senior Research Analyst
linnea@darnell.com
Jeremiah Bryant
Research Analyst
18
CASE STUDY:
jbryant@darnell.com
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Jeff Shepard
President Scalable Power Systems Meet the Needs
jshepard@darnell.com of Configurable Blade Servers
ADVERTISER INDEX
LINNEA C. BRUSH
Senior Research Analyst
Darnell Group
P6 E D N P O W E R T E C H N O L O G Y • N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 5
New Alternatives for Next-Generation
DC-DC Conversion
Whatever Topology You Choose, National Has the Power Management Solution
© National Semiconductor Corporation, 2005. National Semiconductor, , and LLP are registered trademarks of National Semiconductor Corporation.
All rights reserved.
Enter xx at www.edn.com/info
Intersil Switching Regulators
Intersil High Performance Analog
Key Features:
The first line of defense
against heat is a 4A (EL7554) and 6A (EL7566)
thermally-efficient HTSOP-28 continuous output current
package, which utilizes an
exposed thermal pad Up to 96% efficiency
underneath the IC to spread
heat through the PCB. Built-in 5% voltage margining
3V-to-6V input voltage
The VTJ pin is a
0.58 in2 (EL7554) and 0.72 in2
formula-based, accurate (EL7566) footprint with
indicator of the internal components on one side
silicon junction temperature.
of PCB
Adjustable switching frequency
to 1MHz
If all else fails and the
temperature sensor indicates
a junction temperature above
135°C, the PWM Regulator
will shut down.
For more information and samples,
go to www.intersil.com/edn
Easy-to-use simulation tool also
available. Modify switching frequency,
voltage ripple, ambient temperature
and view schematics waveforms,
efficiency graphs and complete BOM
with Gerber layout.
www.intersil.com/iSim
number of trends are converging that the IBA. Power-One added a 46A quarter-brick bus
are pushing embedded ac-dc power converter to its product line that delivers 441W. Tyco
supplies and dc-dc converter modules Electronics introduced the QBK033 bus converter,
towards higher wattages. Rapidly grow- which the company claims
ing blade servers, Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) equip- was the first 400W quarter-
ment and several other devices are driving power brick power module. Artesyn
requirements higher. Shifting bus architectures have Technologies increased the
an even larger effect on the embedded power supply wattage of its highest power
market. These shifts range from the growing usage of quarter-brick bus converter to
the intermediate bus architecture (IBA), to alternative 450W, a 150W improvement
powering trends, to the biggest potential change— over its earlier generation
digital power control and management. Combined, quarter-brick bus converter.
these trends are driving opportunities for higher Similarly, the growing
wattage converters. usage of the IBA is driving
Gains made by the IBA and its hallmark bus sales of Point-of-Load (POL)
converters are a primary driver of this trend. While converters. The worldwide
the IBA is clearly not new, the market acceptance of non-isolated dc-dc converter
the IBA is continuing to grow. Large OEMs that were market, including POLs and
reluctant to move towards the IBA are now employing voltage regulator modules, is
it in their higher performance systems. Blade servers outpacing the dc-dc converter Figure 1: Artesyn increased the power of
its latest Typhoon quarter-brick bus
are seeing growth that is more than three times faster market as a whole. According converters to 450W
than the server market as a whole. Currently blades to the Darnell Group, rev-
account for a small portion of the server market, their enues in this market are projected to rise from $760
growth is one driver pushing the IBA. million in 2005 to $1.4 billion in 2010. A number of
Recently, a number of companies have released new product offerings from companies in the Point-of-
new bus converters that illustrate growing interest in Load Alliance (POLA™) illustrate this trend.
Ericsson Power Modules recently introduced 17
2000 POLA-interoperable POLs in three platforms with cur-
rent ratings from 6A to 60A. One of these POL fami-
1500
lies, the PMM series, is aimed at current-thirsty high-
end computer applications. It delivers 60A, while
1000
achieving a 96% peak efficiency. Artesyn has devel-
500
oped 50A and 60A POL converters for the telecom
and datacom markets including blade servers, data
0 storage switches and voice-processing systems.
<4W 4-12W 13-24W 25-49W 50-99W 100-249W 250-500W >500W
Texas Instruments has introduced the PTVxx010 8A
2005 2010 and PTVxx020 18A families of POLA compatible
Worldwide DC-DC converter module market by wattage plug-in power modules. While POLs are not specific
(millions of dollars) to the IBA, the growth of POLs coupled with the
P10 E D N P O W E R T E C H N O L O G Y • N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 5
CAN YOUR BRICK DO THIS?
IR’s DC Bus Chipset Enables Bricks With 48Vin, 9.6Vout, 330W at 97% Efficiency
96
94
Electrical Efficiency (%)
92
90
4 x (80V) IRF6646 Primary
88 2 x (30V) IRF6635 Secondary
86
84
82
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Load Current (A)
IR's proprietary DirectFET technology is covered by US Patent 6,624,522 and other US and foreign pending patent applications.
DirectFET is a trademark of International Rectifier.
CASE Study
N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 5 • E D N P O W E R T E C H N O L O G Y P 13
PART FO U R: EM BED D ED POWER
A SPECIAL S U P P L E M E N T TO EDN
even under no-load conditions. In the applications At low load currents, the inductor current can
where such low output voltages are required, the pre- drop to zero and become negative. This is detected
cision of the chip’s voltage reference becomes signifi- by the current reversal comparator IREV which then
cant. The LTC3770 specifies an output voltage accu- shuts off M2, resulting in discontinuous operation.
racy of ±0.5% at room temperature and ±0.67% from Both switches will remain off with the output capaci-
0ºC to 85ºC. Across the device’s full operating tem- tor supplying the load until the ITH voltage rises above
perature range (–40ºC to 85ºC), the total error on out- the zero current level (0.75V) to initiate another cycle.
put voltage is still only ±1%. Discontinuous mode operation is disabled by com-
The controller’s operating frequency can be select- parator F when the PFB pin is brought below 0.6V,
ed by a single external resistor. For applications that forcing continuous synchronous operation.
require stringent constant-frequency operation, a PLL The operating frequency is determined implicitly
(phase lock loop) allows the LTC3770 to be synchro- by the top MOSFET on-time and the duty cycle
nized to an external clock, which helps reduce EMI. required to maintain regulation. The one-shot timer
In normal operation, the top MOSFET is turned generates an on-time that is proportional to the ideal
on for a fixed interval determined by a one-shot timer. duty cycle, thus holding the frequency approximately
When the top MOSFET is turned off, the bottom constant with changes in VIN. The nominal frequency
MOSFET is turned on until the current comparator can be adjusted with an external resistor RON.
ICMP trips, restarting the one-shot timer and initiating Over-voltage and under-voltage comparators OV
the next cycle, refer to Figure 2. Inductor current is and UV pull the PGOOD output low if the output feed-
determined by sensing the voltage between the back voltage exits a ±10% window around the regu-
SENSE+ (PGND on the SSOP package) and SENSE- lation point after the internal 25µs power bad mask
(SW on the SSOP) pins using a sense resistor or the timer expires. Furthermore, in an over-voltage condi-
bottom MOSFET on-resistance. The voltage on the ITH tion, M1 is turned off and M2 is turned on immedi-
pin sets the comparator threshold corresponding to ately and held on until the over-voltage condition
inductor valley current. The error amplifier EA adjusts clears.
this voltage by comparing the feedback signal VFB Foldback current limiting is provided if the out-
from a reference voltage set by the VREFIN pin. If the put is shorted to ground. As VFB drops, the buffered
load current increases, it causes a drop in the feed- current threshold voltage ITHB is pulled down and
back voltage relative to the reference. The ITH voltage clamped to 0.9V. This reduces the inductor valley
then rises until the average inductor current again
matches the load current. (“New IC’s Simplify” continued on P32)
P14 E D N P O W E R T E C H N O L O G Y • N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 5
Enter xx at www.edn.com/info
AC Powering Semiconductor Growth
8 by LINNEA BRUSH
mbedded power is used in a wide range and FAN4812. The company also introduced its new
of distributed power architectures with FSAB20PH60 PFC smart power module which
much of the design focus going to the implements the partial PFC switching converter cir-
dc output side. Challenges on the ac cuit topology, switching at twice the line frequency of
input side are equally demanding, however, including the traditional PFC topology. The partial-switching
power factor correction (PFC), hot swappability, and method is popular for 1kW to 3kW air conditioners.
pulse width modulation (PWM). Semiconductor com- International Rectifier introduced the IR1150
panies are providing products for this side of the family of µPFC™ integrated circuits for ac-dc PFC
house that range from digital PWM (DPWM) to OCC circuits. IR utilizes its licensed OCC approach in the
(one cycle control) for PFC. IR1150 to deliver the perform-
PFC (power factor correction) is gaining attention ance of continuous conduction
as new harmonic emission standards become manda- mode (CCM) PFC with the sim-
tory in Europe and Japan. Other countries are at vari- plicity, reliability, and low compo-
ous stages in accepting these standards which means nent count of a discontinuous
power supplies could be subject to more stringent current mode circuit for PFC
requirements. High minimum power factors are no Figure 2: The applications. The company
longer limited to high-power applications, for instance. GPTC110X series claims that the patented OCC
Newer norms and standards apply to products dissi- from Green Power technique “radically alters tradi-
Technologies controls
pating as little as 75W or 26W for lighting devices. PFC stages operating tional thinking about PFC solu-
Low PF results in poor electrical efficiency creat- under continuous tions. It’s a form of CCM PFC
ing the need for larger generators, transformers and conduction mode using a new ‘integrator with reset’
conditions
other distribution devices that would otherwise not be control block.”
necessary. Other PF conditions include overloads, Companies are also looking at full digital power
voltage distortions, noise, parasitic harmonics in the factor correction, although these solutions can have
network, and higher costs associated with them. Fairchild offers an
reciprocal inter- approach that features a control method based on a
ference in the modified sinusoidal pulse width modulation.
system. Fairchild’s proposed method does not need to sense
Analog-based a line current or voltage, and can be implemented by
PFC control using one of their low-speed and low-priced conven-
methods have tional microcontrollers.
long been used Power Factor One Inc. uses its patented control
in power sup- methods including constant pulse proportional cur-
plies. One PFC rent, analog reset system, start enforcer and non-
control method linearity correction to significantly simplify the con-
Figure 1: International Rectifier’s IR1150 family of gaining in pop- verter’s circuit and improve the controller’s perform-
µPFC™ ICs for ac/dc power factor correction circuits
ularity is to use ance. The company states that their PF484x PWM
an analog controller with a discontinuous conduction controller circuits include near-unity PFC circuits
mode, such as Fairchild Semiconductor’s FAN7527B that meet all international standards for electronic
P16 E D N P O W E R T E C H N O L O G Y • N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 5
PART FO U R: EM BED D ED POWER
A SPECIAL S U P P L E M E N T TO EDN
ballast and off-line power conver- topology uses three FET PFC boost
sion applications. switches and tolerates a wide input
A modular approach for PFC is range. Fault detection and control is
provided by Green Power Tech- monitored by a microprocessor. The
nologies Ltd. The company claims generation of the control reference
that their plug-and-play products for PFC correction is handled both
enable quick and easy integration of on an analog level and a micro-
critical components into OEM prod- processor level.
ucts with a resulting minimal bill of Zilker Labs has introduced the
materials that reduces costs. The Figure 3: ON Semiconductor’s NCP1603 ZL2005, a mixed-signal, power man-
GPTC110X series is designed to con- combines a PFC controller chip and a agement and digital PWM IC that
trol the PFC stages operating under PWM control chip in a single, 16-pin integrates a compact, efficient buck
SOIC package
continuous conduction mode condi- controller, high-current adaptive
tions. It provides near-unity power factor for a univer- drivers and full power and thermal management
sal input line (85Vac-265Vac) with no need for sens- functions in a single package, eliminating the need
ing the input voltage. GPT is also finalizing develop- for complicated power supply manager chips and
ment of a digital power management module that numerous discrete components.
incorporates a PFC stage which is expected to be Digital PWM control is also being slowly intro-
commercially available within the next year. duced as a way of enabling high-frequency PWM
A new PFC/PWM controller from ON converter applications. Texas Instruments introduced
Semiconductor with integrated standby and high- the UCD9501 high resolution DPWM controller
voltage start-up capabilities. The NCP1603 combines which is part of its Fusion Digital Power™ family of
a PFC controller chip and a PWM control chip in a products and can achieve up to 150 picoseconds
single, 16-pin SOIC package. Under light load condi- DPWM resolution.
tions the NCP1603 PWM controller disables the PFC Silicon Labs debuted the Si8250 DK, a develop-
function saving in the range of 200mW of power. ment kit that includes tools for designing digital power
Another company looking at digital implementa- supply controllers. The kit includes a digital power
tion is C&D Technologies. They recently presented a supply and PMBus™ adapter along with software
paper at the Digital Power Forum that introduced a that the designer uses to describe the desired func-
digital/analog power-controlled 5500W rectifier with tions of the controller. The code is synthesized, com-
three-phase ac input and high power factor. The piled, then put into the chip.
Companies like Roal Electronics are looking at
front-end power supplies with combined digital and
analog control. The company has a single output dig-
ital power front end with a patent-pending multi-
phase digital PFC. A single 8-bit microcontroller is
used to manage the PFC, VBULK regulation, alarms
and signal monitoring. An interleaved two-transistor
forward converter PWM control is achieved by using
a standard, low-cost, 10-pin analog IC with direct dig-
ital integration for power management.
Ac powering may not be the primary focus of
many power supply design engineers, but the
demands of distributed power architectures will make
it a challenging area in the next few years. As regu-
lations change, and as digital power moves into the
commercial mainstream, opportunities will emerge
Figure 4: The Si8250DK is a development kit from Silicon Labs that for power supply manufacturers to increase efficien-
includes tools for designing digital power supply controllers cy and reduce costs. ■
N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 5 • E D N P O W E R T E C H N O L O G Y P 17
CASE Study
P18 E D N P O W E R T E C H N O L O G Y • N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 5
PART F O U R: EM BED D ED POWER
A SPECIAL S U P P L E M E N T TO EDN
much additional power, there is an ever-increasing shift (or phase overlap) that is controlled. For a compa-
demand to push for higher power supply efficiency. rable component count, the PSFB offers ZVS, EMI and
Because the customer specializes in high-per- performance benefits unmatched against the tradition-
formance computing systems with little to no previous al hard-switched full bridge technique.
power supply design experi-
ence, designing an applica-
tion specific, custom power
supply was a significant chal-
lenge. TI worked closely with
the customer to first under-
stand their immediate power
requirements. The 1.5kW
converter needed to operate
from an off-line power factor
correction (PFC) regulated
boost converter. Initially, the
UCC38500 combination
PFC/pulse width modulation
(PWM) controller was con-
sidered, however this ap-
proach was eliminated
because it was limited to sev-
eral hundred watts of power.
A version of the full-bridge
power topology was really the
only practical choice and for
maintaining absolute highest
efficiency the UCC3895
DC/DC CONVERTERS
phase shifted full bridge Modules for 2.5V to 48V Applications
(PSFB) PWM controller was Speed Time-to-Market
chosen along with a
UCC3817 PFC boost pre- Don’t let multiple source voltage designs slow you down! From SMT
regulator. The PSFB control point-of-load converters, to multi-phase VRMs and bus converters
for intermediate bus architecture, Bel has your DC/DC converter
technique differs from the
modules in stock, and in volume! Our full lines are
traditional PWM full bridge in engineered to optimize PCB space (8A in
two ways. First, an intention- 0.2” x 0.2” footprint) and thermal perform-
al delay time is introduced ance (up to 94% efficiency) in 2.5V to
where, under the right oper- 48V, and 1A to 200A applications.
ating conditions, zero voltage Offered in low-profile and SIP packages,
switching (ZVS) occurs our POL, step down, non-isolated, and
which would be essential for boost converters provide the features 07CR Series of 1/8
Brick Bus Converters
meeting the customers need today’s networking, computing and
telecom designs demand. Regardless of
for high efficiency. Secondly,
your requirements, Bel gets competitively
the duty cycle of each pri- priced products to market faster.
mary bridge MOSFET is fixed
at 50 percent, so instead of
the pulse width being control Tel:800/235-3873 Selector
modulated it is the phase www.belpower.com Guide Available
E D N P O W E R T E C H N O L O G Y P 19 Enter xx at www.edn.com/info
PART F O U R: EM BED D ED POWER
A SPECIAL S U P P L E M E N T TO EDN
Optimizing the converter for high efficiency de- nonlinear elements are defined, the ZVS critical timing
pends upon a thorough understanding of parasitic cir- must be precisely adjusted to fully realize the convert-
cuit elements, such as MOSFET junction capacitance ers’ efficiency benefits. Leveraging TI’s expertise in ZVS
and transformer leakage inductance. Even once these power topologies, the burden of climbing an otherwise
steep learning curve was
avoided. Throughout the
entire development cycle, TI
provided extensive design
support with specification and
design reviews, component
recommendations and sup-
port of initial hardware
debugging. Within nine
months, the customer had its
first “in-house” custom
designed power system
ramping into production.
A short time later, this
customer again consulted TI
to discuss their specifications
for a 200W dc to dc convert-
er design. Since favorable
results with the 1.5kW PSFB
design had been achieved,
With Every Spellman
the customer naturally con-
Bertan brand High Voltage Supply sidered using a scaled-down
you get something extra inside: 200W version. The PSFB
The “Know How” of the High Voltage People. would undoubtedly meet their
For more than 50 years, Spellman is the innovator of the High Voltage industry. With our requirements of high efficien-
recent acquisition of the respected Bertan High Voltage brand, we offer the world’s most cy and reduced cost, but was
comprehensive line of generators, rack instruments, modules and Monoblock X-Ray Sources®. it the best choice? The single-
APPLICATION KNOW HOW: ended forward converter with
Whether your field is X-Ray Analysis, Semiconductor Processing, active clamp transformer
Security Detection, Medical Imaging, Electron Microscopy, or Mass reset offers many of the same
Spectrometry, we make a high voltage supply to meet your needs.
advantages found in the
ENGINEERING KNOW HOW:
PSFB topology, but at re-
We have the largest engineering team in the business and one of the
most innovative design libraries in our industry. duced power levels. Where
the PSFB can be designed to
MANUFACTURING KNOW HOW:
We maintain world-class ISO9001 production facilities in the US, operate at tens or even hun-
Europe and in Mexico. dreds of kilowatts, the active
clamp forward is limited, in a
The High Voltage People of Spellman: responsive, professional and situated globally to support
practical sense, to about
your high voltage needs. For more information, call us or visit our website www.spellmanhv.com
400W. Once the performance
475 Wireless Blvd. and cost trade-offs were pre-
Hauppauge, NY 11788 sented, the customer agreed
tel: +1-631-630-3000
fax: +1-631-435-1620 to proceed with an active
e-mail: sales@spellmanhv.com
www.spellmanhv.com
(“Scalable Power”
USA EUROPE JAPAN MEXICO CHINA continued on P33)
MONOBLOCK® is a registered trademark of Spellman High Voltage Electronics Corp.
Running Out
Of Room?
We Suggest
Fewer Chips.
Reduce your board size and increase
efficiency with Intersil's multiple output
DC/DC Switching Regulators. Get up
to 20A of output current and four
regulated outputs from a single VIN Design has never been so easy, with a variety of
combinations of linears and PWMs, Most devices are
ranging from 3.3V to 24V. available in thin scale packages to maximize real estate.
power consumption in
the challenge stand-by requiring less
than 1W since 7-1-
4
3.5
Harmonic current per Watt, mA/W
3
5
3
Power conservation inside the appliance 2005. In the future, 7
2.5
In the next few years, the worldwide number of the focus should shift 9
2
color TVs is expected to stay roughly flat while to the bigger prize: sav- 11
1.5
the digital TV (DTV) sub-segment will grow at a ing power in normal 13
1
brisk 30% CAGR, reaching 94 MUs in 2009. operation. Already av-
0.5
Flat panel TV technologies come in two flavors, ailable is an E-Star final
0
LCDs (58MU in 2009) and Plasma TVs document prescribing Harmonic order, n=3, 5, ... to 39; 3.85/n mA/W at n>13
(12MUs in 2009). This article focuses on LCD limits to power con-
TVs, which comprise the largest portion of the sumption in normal Fig.1. IEC 61000-3-2 Edition 2.2 Harmonic Current Limits
flat panel TV market. operation for External
Today, the size of DTVs is moving up Power Supplies, for
steadily, with 32” LCD TVs being produced in example, ac adapters, and preliminary draft monic limits of various equipment classes.
the highest volumes, and with sizes as high prescribing efficiency of computers are also Specifically, all personal computers, displays and
as 61” being announced. As bigger TV available. Furthermore, E-Star has just begun TV receivers (Class D equipment) drawing more
screens consume more power and grow to tackle the issue of regulating power con- than 75W must have harmonics at or below the
faster, the end result is an exponential sumption in DTVs during normal operation. profile demonstrated in Figure 1. With a modern
increase in power consumption. 40” LCD TV easily drawing 250W. This means
Energy Star is a program developed by the Efficient power draw from the AC line that these TV sets shipped to Europe must com-
US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to The other aspect of power conservation is power ply. When it comes to compliance, the rest of the
require energy-savings in office equipment such factor correction (PFC). PFC regulations are con- world is following Europe's lead at varying paces.
as computers and monitors. An Energy Star mon- cerned with the quality of the power drawn from Figure 1 illustrates one aspect of the
itor automatically goes to sleep or powers down the line. Optimum conditions for power delivery European specification. Notice that the allowance
after a period of inactivity. This feature can save from the ac line are achieved when the electric grows stricter for the higher harmonics; however,
60-80% of power during idle times––all you load, a TV set for example, draws current which these harmonics also have less energy content
have to do to wake up the monitor is touch the is in phase with the input voltage (ac line), and and are easier to filter. According to the specifi-
keyboard or mouse. when such a current is undistorted (sinusoidal). cation, the allowed harmonic current maxes out
Current regulations, such as the Energy To this end, IEC 6100-3-2 Edition 2.2 is the above 600W, making it more challenging to
Star program requirements for TV’s, focus on current European standard specifying the har- achieve compliance at higher power.
the solution
system had to have efficiency
above 85% in normal opera- CUSTOMER
A major TV manufacturer asked Fairchild tion and meet the Energy Star PROFILE
Semiconductor, to help them design the power supply requirement of <1W power A LARGE
MANUFACTURER
system for a 40” digital TV set. The challenge was to consumption in stand-by. OF LCD TV SETS
design a power supply system that was small and A typical 40” LCD TV set
highly efficient––both constraints being dictated by needs several AC-DC isolated outputs converting
the appliances thin form factor. The power supply power from the 90~254Vac line. Typically, Output 1
P22 E D N P O W E R T E C H N O L O G Y • N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 5
PART F O U R: EM BED D ED POWER
A SPECIAL S U P P L E M E N T TO EDN
(24V/8A, 192W) will power the LCD back light invert- current in the storage capacitor between the PFC and
er block, Output 2 (5V/0.5A) will power the logic PWM sections. This results in higher efficiency and
block, Output 3 (5V/2A) will power the tuner block smaller component size. Thanks to these features,
and Output 4 (12V/3A) will power the audio amplifier the measured total efficiency at 85Vac was over 85%,
block. This adds up to a
total power of 243W in nor-
mal operation with a stand-
by power of less than 1W.
The strategy we adopted
to meet both normal and
stand-by operation was to
divide the entire system into
two sub-systems, a main
power supply sub-system for
normal operation and an auxil-
iary one for stand-by (Figure 2).
Stand-by Operation
In stand-by mode, the main
power is disconnected from
the ac line. We used a relay
and only the stand-by power
supply built around
Fairchild’s FSDM311 SMPS
power switch to power the
logic block. The FSDM311
consumes very little power
thanks to its high-voltage
start-up switch and the
advanced burst mode opera-
tion to reduce switching loss.
Normal Operation
In normal operation, the
device’s main power supply
was built around Fairchild’s
FAN4800 PFC/PWM mono-
lithic combo controller IC, The quickest way to find the power you need.
which achieves high effi-
ciency using ZVS (zero volt- Sometimes looking for the right power supply can be a hassle.
age switch) ASHB (asym- That’s why Norvell has developed Power Supply Solutions. This unique
tool will respond to your specifications quickly by accessing several
metric half bridge) topology
manufactures and providing multiple power solutions. It’s just that
and utilizes the FAN7382
simple. Go to norvell.com/pss and experience Norvell’s newest
for high side MOSFET drive. www.norvell.com/pss way to service your needs. Just plug it in, order it and power up!
The patented Leading-Edge
Modulation (LEM) PFC/TEM
Trailing-Edge Modulation
(TEM) PWM synchroniza- power up
tion method reduces ripple
E D N P O W E R T E C H N O L O G Y P 23 Enter xx at www.edn.com/info
PART F O U R: EM BED D ED POWER
A SPECIAL S U P P L E M E N T TO EDN
FAN 4800:
LCD 24V/8A FSCQ0765: 12V/3A
D5SB60 Backlight Audio PS
PS
AC LINE
P24 E D N P O W E R T E C H N O L O G Y • N O V E M B E R xx
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5
High Power Buck-Boost
90%
Operating Modes
85% SEPIC Converter
• 200kHz to 400kHz Constant
Frequency Operation, 80%
Phase-Lockable 75%
• VOUT Disconnected from VIN
70%
During Shutdown 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
• 24-lead SSOP and VIN(V) , LTC and LT are registered trademarks and SwitcherCAD is a
trademark of Linear Technology Corporation. All other trade-
5mm x 5mm QFN-32 marks are the property of their respective owners.
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Intersil Battery Charger ICs
Intersil High Performance Analog
Unshackle Your
Handheld Device
From Its Cradle
Intersil’s ISL6299 is a fully integrated low-cost Li-ion
or Li-polymer battery charger that accepts both USB
port and desktop cradle charger.
The ISL6299 is a low component count solution that features
programmable cradle charge current, charge indication, adapter
present indication, and programmable end-of-charge (EOC) current
with latch. All these advanced features, along with Intersil’s Therma-
guard™ technology for an added measure of thermal protection, are
delivered in this single chip available in a tiny 3x3 mm DFN package.
ISL6299 System
ISL6299 Key Features:
Dual-Input charger for single-cell Li-ion/
Cradle input. The max input voltage tolerance is 28V. Programmable
charge current up to 1A and programmable end of charge current. The Polymer Batteries for Cradle and USB
included end of charge latch is the default input source.
Low Component Count
Integrated Pass Element
USB input. Takes input from USB port or other low voltage supply. Fixed
charge current at typically 380mA. Only charges when cradle source is Fixed 380mA USB Charge Current
not connected.
Programmable Cradle Charge Current
Charge Current Thermaguard™ for
Thermal Protection
Programmable end of charge optimizes Fast-charging rates of an AC
end-customer applications. High input adaptor for when you have 28V Maximum Voltage for the Cradle Input
voltage tolerance protects the device when access to cradle.
Charge and Adapter Presence Indicators
used with low cost unregulated supplies or
in under input transient conditions. Less than 0.5µA Leakage Current off the
Battery when No Input Power Attached
Programmable end-of-charge current with
latch for Cradle Input
No External Blocking Diode Required
Pb-Free Plus Anneal Available
(RoHS Compliant)
CASE Study
Which Voltage Bus is Best?
8 by LOU PECHI, POWER-ONE, INC.
the challenge
The POLs are not isolated and do not employ a
transformer to convert the IBV to the output voltage,
To meet the design goals of the equipment, the cus- hence the efficiency of the device varies with the volt-
tomer needed not only to reduce the size of his new age differential between the input and the output.
design, but also reduce the material cost while at the This means that the POL operates more efficiently
same time increase the functionality of the power con-
with lower voltage differentials across the device.
version and management functions.
The customer required 8 distinct voltages ranging The printed circuit board (PCB) trace resistances
from 0.75 Volts and up to 3.3 Volts at currents rang- are constant and the power is a multiple of voltage and
ing from low 3.7 Amp and up to 10 Amp. Besides the square of the current (I2R). When delivering power
sequentially powering each output, in order to assure to a load, it is desirable to raise the distribution voltage
proper system operation, to the highest level feasible so as to lower the current
the rate of turn on and
and minimize the trace voltage drops.
turn off had to be differ-
ent for each output. As power requirements in a system CUSTOMER
To optimize the system vary, the load currents of each POL, and PROFILE
power dissipation the cus- thus the total IBV current varies, affect- A LEADING
tomer was faced with the ing the PCB trace voltage drops. DEVELOPER OF
NEXT-GENERATION
problem of choosing the At low power requirements the IBV OPTICAL ULTRA-
right bus voltage. At low HIGH-SPEED
can be lowered in order to reduce the
bus voltages at same over- TRANSMISSION
voltage drops and increase the efficien-
all power, the current and TRANSPORT
the associated I2R dissi- cy of the individual POL converters. PRODUCTS.
pation in the circuit board At higher system power require-
traces is higher, while at ments the IBV can be increased in order to reduce
higher voltages due to the the PCB current and reduce the trace (I2R) power
lower currents the dissipa-
losses.
Figure 1. System tion is lower. Additionally,
Block Diagram converting higher inputs
Within a range of varying system power require-
to the low outputs at the ments, there is an optimum IBV where the efficiency
point of loads (POLs), the dissipation in the POL itself is is maximized.
higher. The dissipation in the isolated dc/dc converter Analysis calculations, using actual copper cir-
that converts the 48 Volt input to the bus voltage does cuit board trace resistances, indicated that even
not change appreciably due to different isolation trans-
though the power dissipation in the POLs was higher,
former turn ratios, with the output voltage. Thus the
choice of the bus voltage needs to be made based on the
at the high required currents, the higher bus voltage
best balance between the circuit board trace and the resulted in a slightly better efficiency of 80% for the
POL losses. 12 Volt bus vs. 78% efficiency for the 5 Volt bus.
the solution
The concept is illustrated in Figure 2. The isolated
dc/dc Converter is an isolation transformer used to
convert the higher input voltages to a lower interme-
diate bus voltage (IBV), and the efficiency does not
appreciably change with the voltage differentials
across the device. Figure 2. Power Dissipation Block Diagram
N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 5 • E D N P O W E R T E C H N O L O G Y P 27
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PART F O U R: EM BED D ED POWER
A SPECIAL S U P P L E M E N T TO EDN
POWER
SERIES BOP HIGH POWER
d-c bipolar power
TOOLS
You need to use the right tools to get the job
done. Kepco provides you with these tools in
1KW our broad line of instrumentation and modular
Figure 3. Chosen DPM
• Source & sink, 4 quadrant operation. power supplies.
and Z-POLs • Fast analog programming.
• Precision stabilization: Kepco, Inc., an ISO 9001 company, has been
For the POLs the cus- 0.001% source, 0.002% load.
• Digital programming. making precision-stabilized power supplies
tomer had a choice to use • Built-in arbitrary waveform generator. since 1946. We specialize in analog-controlled
the ZY7007 (7 Amp) and www.kepcopower.com/bophi.htm fast-programmable d-c products, capable of
the ZY7010 (10 Amp) for producing 1, 2 or 4- quadrant (bipolar) outputs.
the lower currents, and the Digital control is supported under GPIB
(IEEE 488.2), RS232 and VXI, using SCPI
ZY7115 (15 Amp) for the and CIIL. VXI plug&play capability is available
higher output currents. for more than 50 models ranging up to 1200
In order to minimize the SERIES KLP watts. Kepco also offers industrial and OEM
voltage, current and power-limited modular power supplies in single and multi-
number of different compo- operating boundaries
nents, the customer chose 1200 watts output designs. Many designs current share
• GPIB, RS 232 & isolated analog for hot-swap and N+1 redundancy applications.
the ZY7115 intelligent, fully control standard.
programmable step-down • True 1U height - full power operation We take pride in the new and innovative
with no spacing between units. power products that will further expand the
POL converters, even though • Wide range a-c input with active PFC.
horizon of options for systems designers. For
some of the output current www.kepcopower.com/klp.htm
the tools you can rely on, from a company
requirements were below the you can trust, call Kepco today or check out
capabilities of the device. our Web site.
Besides reducing the num-
ber of different part numbers,
operating way below the SERIES RTW RoHS
rated output current capabili- d-c modular power Compliant
ties of the POLs increased the 50-100 watts 131-38 Sanford Avenue, Flushing, NY 11352 USA
• Wide range a-c input with active PFC. Tel: (718) 461-7000 • Fax: (718) 767-1102
overall system reliability. • Low profile, optional cover Email: hq@kepcopower.com
factory installed.
To manage and control • FCC Class B conducted and
VISIT OUR WEB SITE FOR MORE INFO
the 8 POLs his choice was radiated emissions.
www.kepcopower.com/rtw.htm www.kepcopower.com
E D N P O W E R T E C H N O L O G Y P 29 Enter xx at www.edn.com/info
PART F O U R: EM BED D ED POWER
A SPECIAL S U P P L E M E N T TO EDN
GAIA-CONVERTER
GAIA
4 TO 150 WATTS
High Reliability
Wide input ranges 1:5
9-45V, 16-80V, Figure 6. 50% Load Transient Simulation
36-150V, 120-480V
The DPM bi-directionally communicates with the 8 Z-
A MODULAR POWER One POLs and with the main system through a standard two
ARCHITECTURE wire I2C Bus.
To design complex power The DPM, besides communicating with the main sys-
supplies using complete tem, can set through a graphical user interface (GUI) I2C
COTS solutions that integrate interface each Z-POL converter’s parameters such as,
output voltage, sequencing, tracking, protection type and
Front-end protections, EMI
thresholds, frequency, fault propagation, interleave and
filters, approved according to
feedback loop compensation. The DPM constantly moni-
Avionics and Military tors each Z-POL converter’s output voltage, current and
standards temperature, while the Z-POLs monitor and report their indi-
MIL-STD-704. 461, 1275 vidual status of, over and under voltage protection (OVP &
DO-160, ABD-100 UVP), and power good high and low (PGH & PGL). Data,
such as output voltage, output current, and temperature, are
Input Bus constantly updated and stored in the DPM’s shift register
and can be accessed in case of system failure. Such teleme-
try data can also be used to monitor the temperature at each
POL location.
Fault management between the Z-POL converters can
be programmed to act differently when faults occur. If no
fault propagation is required, the protection, depending on
fault severity, shuts down just the faulty Z-POL in a latching
or non-latching mode (hiccup with a 130ms period). Fault
propagation within a group of Z-POLs, besides shutting
Ouput Voltage
down the failed Z-POL, shuts down all the Z-POLs within the
U.S. & CANADA group and assures that the group is synchronously turned
1-888- 601-3169 (“Which Voltage Bus is Best?” continued on P34)
EUROPE
33.5.57.92.12.80
P30 xx
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POWER TECHNOLOGY • NOVEMBER 2005
One-Stop Vicor offers families of high power density, component-level DC-DC
converters, families of configurable power supplies, and custom
solutions. Choices include input voltage, output voltage, power
Power Shop ratings, performance characteristics, and package size.
This broad range of choices allows designers to select
products to fit their individual applications.
Vicor offers power Configurable and custom products use standard
converters as core elements to offer higher
architects a One-Stop performance, higher power densities, lower
Power Shop, including: costs, greater flexibility, and faster delivery
than traditional competitive offerings.
• Component power converters Component-based, configurable, military
• Configurable power supplies COTS, or custom power solutions? You’ll find
• Custom power supplies them all at Vicor, the One-Stop Power Shop. Factorized Power
vicorpower.com
Enter xx at www.edn.com/info
(“New ICs Simplify” continued from P14) to stress their systems by varying supply voltage dur-
ing testing.
current level to one tenth of its maximum value as VFB The LTC3770 has the ability to either soft start by
approaches 0V. Foldback current limiting is disabled itself with a capacitor or track the output of another
at start-up. supply. When the device is configured to soft start by
Margining is a resistor-programmable function itself, a capacitor is connected to the TRACK/SS pin.
with the LTC3770. A resistor placed between the pro- The LTC3770 is put in a low quiescent current shut-
grammable margining input pin and ground sets the down state if the RUN pin voltage is below 1.5V. The
margining current. This current multiplied by the TRACK/SS pin is actively pulled to ground in the
resistor between the VREFOUT and VREFIN pins sets, shutdown state. Once the RUN pin voltage is above
determines the margining voltage offset. In addition, 1.5V, the LTC3770 is powered up. A soft-start current
the MSB and LSB logic inputs for the margining func- of 1.4µA then starts to charge the soft-start capacitor
tion together determine whether the IC is in margin CSS. Pin Z1 must be grounded for soft-start operation.
high, margin low, or no margin state. This functional When the device is configured to track anoth-
capability is particularly useful for designs who need er supply, the feedback voltage of the other supply
is duplicated by a resistor
divider and applied to the
TRACK/SS pin. In this case,
Pin Z1 should be tied to
INTVCC to turn off the soft-
start current in this mode.
Therefore, the voltage ramp
rate on this pin is determined
by the ramp rate of the other
supply output voltage.
Summary
Designers of POL dc/dc con-
verters for embedded systems
face many challenges due to
the multiple constraints of limit-
ed space and cooling within a
given enclosure, as well as the
need for the correct power sup-
ply tracking for improved sys-
tem reliability. Despite having to
navigate through this myriad of
constraints, the recently intro-
duced LTC3770, from Linear
Technology provides a simple,
compact, efficient and feature
rich solution.■
P32 E D N P O W E R T E C H N O L O G Y • N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 5
PART FO U R: EM BED D ED POWER
A SPECIAL S U P P L E M E N T TO EDN
(“Embedded Power” continued from P10) an open communications standard, the products that
use this standard are not necessarily going to be
feedback loop compensation and configuration. compatible in terms of size or pin outs. So even
Astec's DTX provides up to 50W of power from a 36V though PMBus products speak the same language,
to 75V input and offers outputs ranging from 0.96V to they are not necessarily the same.
1.44V. While each company uses the same PMBus While the above discussion focuses on the sup-
"language" to set parameters, the software used can ply side of digital power control and digital power
vary substantially. management, the demand side is beginning to
Delta Electronics in conjunction with Primarion, a show signs of life, as well. Large OEMs including
PMBus adopter, announced Delta's Digital X-Power 30 IBM and EMC have expressed increasing interest
(DXP30), which uses Primarion's digital multiphase in using digital power technologies, with a few
PWM controller. The DXP 30 delivers 30A, with an caveats. The first caveat high on the list is price
input voltage range of 7V to 11V and provides parity. Several OEMs have indicated that once dig-
adjustable output voltage from 0.8V to 2.5V in digitally ital solutions reach price parity, more specifically,
defined steps of 1.62 mV. While more digital products acquisition cost price parity with analog solutions,
are coming to market, the market is still working out digital power solutions will be implemented.
which solutions, if any, are best. Secondly, OEMs have indicated that they need to
Another perceived difference between PMBus be more involved in the design process of digital
implementations and Power-One's approach is the power solutions rather than simply being left to
open-standard vs. proprietary design debate. choose either a PMBus- or Z-Alliance-based solu-
However, both sides fit on both sides of the debate. tion. While digital power developments are domi-
Power-One formed the Z-Alliance with C&D nating the power news, the combination of grow-
Technologies and Atmel in order to secure second ing markets for the IBA, PoE and digital power will
sourcing for the Z-One Digital IBA products so it is no drive developments for embedded power market
longer a single-source product. While the PMBus is for some time to come.■
(“Scalable Power”continued from P20) ciation for all that is involved in custom designing effi-
cient power conversion products for their blade server
clamp forward design based upon the UCC2894 active systems. The customer has even been discussing the
clamp current mode PWM controller. possibility of allocating in-house design resources
To help quickly bring the customer up to speed, uniquely dedicated to developing custom power sys-
TI provided a reference design and a working convert- tems for blade server applications.
er used as a learning aid for gaining a thorough under-
standing of active clamp forward converter principles. Summary
TI also delivered a custom-designed mathematical • A 1.5kW PSFB power supply with PFC was
model to predict the power converter module efficien- designed using the UCC3817 PFC boost pre-regu-
cy. Efficiency modeling is useful because it speeds up lator and UCC3895 Advanced Phase Shift PWM
the design verification process by allowing exploration controller.
of the effects on efficiency while varying design com- • Using the UCC2894 active clamp current mode
ponents or operating parameters. With TI’s design sup- PWM controller, a 200W dc to dc converter was
port, this customer was able to take their first active designed for reduced cost and high efficiency in a
clamp forward converter from concept to pre-produc- blade server application.
tion in less than six months. • Reference designs and efficiency modeling tools
The customer now has experience with two of the were provided to reduce design cycle time.
most efficient power topologies available and has scal- • Customer now has two scalable ZVS power designs
able power solutions from less than 100W to many to cover blade server applications from as low as
kilowatts. In addition, they have acquired a real appre- 100W to many kilowatts.■
N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 5 • E D N P O W E R T E C H N O L O G Y P 33
PART FO U R: EM BED D ED POWER
A SPECIAL S U P P L E M E N T TO EDN
(“PFC/PWM” continued from P24) and trailing-edge modulation in both normal opera-
tion and burst mode for stand-by, are essential ingre-
power consumption in normal operation. Fortunately dients for meeting the demand to operate modern
from the prospective of energy conservation, in the appliances with minimum power waste.
case of LCD and Plasma TVs, the size constraints com-
bined with the relatively high amount of heat produced Summary
are pushing the demand for efficient solutions inde- • Meet the Energy Star regulations in
pendently from the existence of any regulatory incen- stand by mode.
tives. The application of advanced architectures and • Consume a low amount of power during operation.
techniques, like ZVS and a combination of leading- • Meet the PFC specifications.■
(“Which Voltage Bus is Best?” continued from P30) than multiple calculations and massive component
changes which could have taken weeks to implement.
back on. The fault propagation to the system prop- Each parameter was individually adjusted with results of
agates the fault to all Z-POLs in the system. such adjustments instantly displayed (Figure 4).
The I2C connected to a PC based graphical user All performance parameters such as turn-on and
interface (GUI) was used to program and monitor the turn-off timing and rate (Figure 5) as well as output
output voltages and currents, as well as sequence transient response to load changes (Figure 6) were
and adjust the individual POL response parameters. simulated in real time and displayed on an oscillo-
The use of the GUI made the programming and sim- scope connected to the system.
ulation of the system very easy. Z-POL converter parame-
ters, such as loop gain, turn-on and turn-off time and rate, Summary
required only simple point-and-click adjustments rather • Having a variety of component choices from
a single vendor allowed this customer to select
the best solution for his system design.
• Selecting the right intermediate bus voltage,
the customer realized the highest overall system
efficiency.
• Usage of the ZY7115 vertically surface-mounted
Z-POLs significantly reduced the circuit board
space requirements.
• System design, development, and troubleshooting
were dramatically reduced.
• Using the same devices for all the output
voltage requirements minimized the inventory
of different components.
• Reduction in the number of discrete components
improved the overall system reliability.
• Customer met and exceeded all design and
budget goals, with timely market
Figure 4. GUI transfer function display introduction.■
P34 E D N P O W E R T E C H N O L O G Y • N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 5
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PFC. Simplified.
SuperFET™ MOSFETs:
PFC/PWM
Combo
• Fairchild’s proprietary Super Junction FET technology offers Optically
state-of-the-art FOM, increasing system efficiency Isolated
Error Amplifier