Challenging Applications Call for Easier, All-In-One Digital Power Modules
System designers are demanding, but you can’t blame them. For applications like wireless communications, cloud storage and networking equipment, they face tons of challenges. Fortunately, a few all-in-one digital DC-DC power modules are up to the challenge, even when designers keep asking for more.
System designers are demanding, but you can’t blame them. For applications like wireless communications, cloud storage and networking equipment, they face tons of challenges. Fortunately, a few all-in-one digital DC-DC power modules are up to the challenge, even when designers keep asking for more, such as: ultra-slim profile (3mm), small footprint (20 x 11mm), placement anywhere on motherboards or mezzanines, easy to design in, easy to manufacture, high current without airflow, exceptional power density and efficiency, digital access, self-contained modules with few external devices, and the list goes on and on.
In other words, designers want it all. Breakthroughs in encapsulation technology, digital power, new design flexibilities and a host of other capabilities have made at least one line of low-profile all-in-one POL converters the most effective solution available for one simple reason. They CAN do it all.
Market Drivers
The drivers that are creating demand for this new generation of DC-DC converters originate in two places: the marketplace and the new product designs themselves. Wireless, storage, networking and other expanding markets are very competitive places. The rate of new product introductions has accelerated tremendously in recent years and shows no signs of abating. Shorter development cycles place extreme pressure on system and circuit board designers. When developers are faced with churning out a new product every six months or less, for example, they must search for and find solutions that are flexible and broadly capable so they can be designed into multiple product generations and across multiple product lines with diverse performance requirements.
The competitive nature of the end equipment markets also exerts pressure on product designs themselves. To survive and thrive, a new product must stand out from competitive products by offering more compelling capabilities. Most of the time that means incorporating additional resources into a design, but in less space. Circuit board real estate comes at a huge premium. I’ve been told by a designer that he would prefer to devote no board space at all to power modules. All this translates into modules that must have superb power density in terms of current output and footprint, excellent thermal performance in tight places like crowded card cages, a wide voltage conversion range, varied and adjustable transient response, incredible power efficiency and the ability to do all of this in one robust, small and slim device package that’s compatible with high-volume manufacturing processes.
The Power of All (in one)
Providing this wide range of capabilities requires advances in several technologies, such as encapsulation, digital communication, thermally de-rated power density and others.
New encapsulation techniques have made it possible for smaller power converters to distribute heat more effectively, shifting it away from hot spots to places on the module that are cooler. Breakthroughs in material science have had a lot do to with this, but how the material is designed into the power module is also critical. In the end, advanced encapsulation technology has enabled devices like our 3mm SlimLynx modules which output 40 percent more power (12A and 5.5V) in a tiny footprint of just 20.32 x 11.43 mm. Because of their thermal performance SlimLynx modules can deliver full 12A from 12V in to 1.2V out at 75 degrees Celsius (C) with no airflow.
Another important requirement for effective encapsulation is the manufacturability of the resulting power module. Many encapsulation materials are not compatible with the high temperatures of the solder reflow process found in high-volume manufacturing lines. In contrast, the materials and design of the encapsulation technology in SlimLynx devices make them completely compatible with both leaded and high-temperature lead-free reflow processes. Moreover, they can be placed on the underside of a circuit board and survive reverse reflow as well. Their PowerSGA™ (Power Solder Grid Array) package features controlled solder bumps which increase the solder joint reliability of the device once it has been affixed to either the top or underside of a board, or even on a mezzanine daughtercard assembly.
As digital power devices, these modules have an open portal to innovation. By that I mean that their data communications capabilities can transform the device into a key innovation engine. For example, an I2C port supporting PMbus protocol functionality could be used to dynamically optimize the set points on a POL power device. Battery power might be conserved by implementing various sleep or standby power modes. And I2C connectivity can give engineers greater visibility into the precise nature of the system’s power consumption patterns. This sort of information can be a powerful debug asset. For instance, excessive power consumption somewhere in the system might lead to alterations in the design or changes in the system’s operational procedures, resulting in lower power consumption and a more reliable system.
Of course, designers are always interested in features that simplify their jobs. A technology in SlimLynx modules called Tunable Loop™ reduces the need for external devices by easily tuning the same module to a range of various transient response requirements and applications. As a result, a SlimLynx device can be deployed in multiple designs without the addition of many external passive devices. Also, a wide conversion range covering 3 – 14.5V in and 4.5 – 5.5V out at 12A means that designers can drop a SlimLynx device into various designs that have widely disparate power requirements.
All for one, one for all
The new generation of digital DC-DC POL power converters represented by SlimLynx features that combination of innovative capabilities which are required for today’s demanding applications. Driven by design challenges in markets like wireless communications, cloud storage, networking and others, all-in-one power modules deliver the power performance that’s a requisite while simplifying and accelerating design cycles. That’s a boon for system designers who are constantly searching for innovative solutions that not only keep pace with the inevitable progress of technology, but which also enable shorter, more effective new product development projects.
