Murata Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (Japan) and Texas Instruments Inc. (TI, Dallas, TX) announced plans to expand a global effort to promote pin-compatible, non-isolated, point-of-load, plug-in power modules and provide a second source centered on leading semiconductor technology. As the newest member of the Point-of-Load Alliance (POLA), a group that promotes multi-sourcing of pin-compatible, non-isolated, point-of-load power modules, Murata will offer telecom and data communications power supply designers pin-compatible footprints that provide the same functionality and form factors as products produced by other members of POLA.
POLA plug-in power modules, available now in volume production, are based on the PTHxx Series with auto-track sequencing, introduced by Texas Instruments in 2003. Murata’s plug-in modules are expected to be available in the second quarter of 2005. Late last year, POLA members announced their intention to join the PMBus™ digital protocol initiative with other leading power supply manufacturers and semiconductor makers. The coalition agreed to develop and support a new communications standard defining an open architecture for power systems control using an industry-standard I2C serial bus. POLA plans to implement the new digital protocol in future generations of plug-in power modules.
"In the Japanese communication-infrastructure market, Murata’s isolated power converters continue to maintain high market share because of our unique, state-of-the-art circuit design and module structure. However, a wider variety of products is required because of the recent popularity of distributed power architectures," said Murata Module Unit Vice President Harufumi Mandai. "Therefore, we believe it is very appropriate to participate in POLA, which will let the market know our name and technologies. This also opens the market for Murata’s isolated power converters by having products based on the POLA market standard."
