Product Releases
Reference Design Exceeds Energy Standards for Desktop Computers
August 2, 2007 12:03 pm | On Semiconductor | CommentsON Semiconductor unveiled an open ATX reference design that meets the new Energy Star requirements for ATX power supplies used in desktop PCs. The design offers efficiency that is said to exceed the Energy Star requirements under all specified load conditions, and it allows power supply manufacturers to bring highly efficient power supplies to market with readily available technology.
Reference Design for Efficient 200W Power Adapters Used in Game Consoles
August 2, 2007 11:58 am | On Semiconductor | CommentsON Semiconductor’s seventh GreenPoint reference design is for a 200W power adapter used to power game consoles -- allowing engineers to implement adapters that provide minimized active- and standby mode power consumption. The 200W adapter for game consoles has a dual output voltage, which makes the requirements for minimum active efficiency and maximum standby mode power more challenging to meet.
Buck Converters Offer Digital Programmable and Externally Adjustable Output Voltage Options
August 2, 2007 11:52 am | CommentsSemtech’s SC196 and SC196A 1.5A DC/DC step-down (buck) regulators feature high efficiency due to low quiescent current and power save modes to target the lower voltage levels needed for next-generation portable device designs. The SC196 uses external feedback to allow the output voltage to be set anywhere between 1V and the input voltage for design flexibility. The SC196A uses two programming pins to set the output voltage to 1V, 1.05V, 1.2V or 1.8V.
Triple Output LED Driver Drives Up to 24 <times> 500 mA LEDS and Offers 3,000:1 True Color PWM Dimming
August 2, 2007 11:46 am | CommentsLinear Technology’s LT3496 2 MHz DC/DC converter is designed to operate as a three-channel constant current LED driver. Each of its three channels can drive up to eight 500 mA LEDs in series, enabling it to drive up to 24 × 500 mA LEDs at efficiencies up to 96 percent. All three channels are operated by an independent True Color PWM signal, enabling each to be dimmed independently to ratios as high as 3,000:1.
DC/DC Controller Supports Input Voltage Ranges from 4.5V to 20V
August 2, 2007 11:42 am | CommentsTexas Instruments introduced a synchronous buck controller that simplifies power management design of LCD TVs and IP set-top boxes that use digital signal processors (DSPs) and FPGAs. The TPS40195 for 4.5V to 20V input systems, uses the input voltage available for power conversion as its bias supply, eliminating the need for additional voltages to power the IC. The device, which comes in a 16-pin TSSOP package
Low Noise Amplifier for Ultrasound Applications
August 2, 2007 11:36 am | CommentsSupertex today introduced the MD3880, a four-channel, low-noise amplifier (LNA) with a variable gain amplifier (VGA). The IC features very low current (0.35 pA/sqrtHz) and voltage (0.74 nV/sqrtHz) noises and linear-in-dB continuous variable gain control. The MD3880 has fully differential inputs and outputs that provide a high common-mode noise rejection ratio.
Single-chip Inverter for BLDC Motor Drives
August 2, 2007 11:28 am | CommentsMitsubishi Electric Europe B.V. announced a single-chip inverter for drives of typically 90W to address BLDC motor drives, which provides for energy savings while simultaneously meeting the specific demands of the white good industry. The M81500FP is rated for 500V/1A, and it integrates control, drive and protection functionalities as well as IGBTs, freewheeling diodes and bootstrap diodes.
Synchronous, 3 MHz/600 mA Buck Converter with 16 µA Quiescent Current, 20 mV Transient Response
August 2, 2007 11:14 am | Fairchild Semiconductor | CommentsFairchild Semiconductor’s FAN5350 is a 3 MHz/600 mA DC/DC synchronous buck converter featuring 16 µA quiescent current, 20 mV transient response and low-voltage ripple. Designed to power DSP core processors, application processors and I/O interfaces, the FAN5350 uses a proprietary architecture designed to provide desirable quiescent current and transient-response performance. The FAN5350’s 3 MHz switching allows the device to
Power Switch Offers Energy Efficiency, System Reliability
August 2, 2007 10:51 am | Fairchild Semiconductor | CommentsFairchild Semiconductor introduced the Green FPS e-Series, a new family of Fairchild Power Switch (FPS) products that provide high energy efficiency and system reliability in DVD player, set top box, LCD monitor and other 25W and lower power supply designs. Based on a proprietary valley switching technique, the Green FPS products raise power conversion efficiency by 1 percent and reduce EMI up to 5 dB compared to conventional hard-switch converter topologies
Space-saving Supply and Voltage Regulators
August 2, 2007 10:47 am | CommentsIntersil announced the release of the ISL6422B and ISL6423B LNB supply and control voltage regulators. These energy efficient regulators are said to be the industry’s first to use an I2C interface to improve system reliability by reporting diagnostics and protecting a satellite set top box (SSTB) against overvoltage, overcurrent, over temperature and backward current. With a supply current of 4.0 mA, a standby current of just 1.5 mA, and a typical dropout voltage of 0.8V, these devices offer desirable power dissipation
PCIe Gen2 Signal Switches Support 5 Gbps Operation
August 2, 2007 10:44 am | CommentsPericom Semiconductor announced, in conjunction with the PCI Special Interest Group (PCI-SIG), production availability of a family of high-performance signal switch products designed to operate at the PCIe Gen2 data rate of 5 Gbps. The signal switches are intended to enable customers who are early adopters of the higher speed Gen2 PCIe technology to move forward earlier in their platform design cycles. Pericom Signal Switches operate at the Physical layer (PHY layer), and are used for I/O slot configuration in volume workstation, server, desktop video and gaming
Reference Design for 40W and 80W Printer Power Supplies
August 2, 2007 8:27 am | On Semiconductor | CommentsON Semiconductor unveiled a GreenPoint reference design for 40W power supplies used to power desktop printers. The design is a blueprint for engineers working on power adapters that provide both low active-mode and low standby-mode power consumption. Providing active-mode energy efficiency above 83 percent when delivering an output power between 5W and 40W, this reference design achieves a no-load power consumption of >150 mW. Typical 40 W printers in use today consume on average 450 mW in similar conditions
Negative Charge Pump Achieves High Efficiency for Driving Up to Six White/RGB LEDs
August 2, 2007 8:06 am | CommentsMaxim Integrated Products’ MAX8647 a negative charge pump provides what is said to be the industry's highest efficiency in powering LCD display backlights. The negative charge-pump architecture eliminates in-line resistance from battery to LEDs and delays mode switching from 1x to 1.5x during battery discharge. A proprietary, adaptive-mode switching technology controls each of the six white or RGB LEDs independently. As a result, the MAX8647 achieves
Seven Display, Audio and Power Management ICs Drive Energy-efficient Video in Handhelds
August 2, 2007 7:47 am | CommentsSeven display, audio and power management products from National enable energy-efficient video in handheld and converged devices that feature phone and media playback functions. The LM2512 high-speed serial host device supports a video mode interface bridge between the processor and the display. A dithering function allows 24-bit video to be displayed with high quality on 18-bit displays, preserving the lower power consumption associated with 6-bit RGB data converters. The FPD95120 LTPS display driver for half-VGA format
NAND/NOR Flash Programming System
August 2, 2007 7:04 am | CommentsBPM Microsystem’s Flashstream offers flash programming of NAND and NOR flash memory at speeds as low as 2.5 percent over the theoretical programming minimum. The company’s Vector Engine uses a proprietary co-processor design to hardware accelerate flash memory waveforms during the programming cycle. Faster speeds are achieved through synchronous operations that eliminate the dead times when the DUT waits on the programmer. The result is
