Industry Showcases Advanced Power Components at APEC

Feb 1, 2008 12:00 PM
By David Morrison, Editor in Chief

ON Semiconductor will be unveiling a GreenPoint open reference design for a 16-W ac-dc adapter for xDSL modems. This design exceeds ENERGY STAR requirements for single-voltage ac-dc and ac-ac external power supplies revision 1.1, for high active-mode power efficiency and low standby-mode power consumption. The reference design can be easily modified for use with 10-W to 20-W single-output voltage adapters for printers, routers and hubs.

This fully designed and tested solution achieves an active-mode efficiency of 78% at 120 Vac and 79% at 230 Vac, exceeding ENERGY STAR guidelines of 74% for both input voltages. In standby mode, the solution consumes only 240 mW at 120 Vac and 200 mW at 240 Vac, exceeding ENERGY STAR guidelines of 0.5 W for both input voltages. In addition, the design complies with FCC Part 15 Level B EMI requirements. The documentation package is available at www.onsemi.com/greenpoint, as are links to relevant industry information.

Linear Technology (www.linear.com) will introduce the LTC3566, a switch-mode USB power manager with an integrated buck-boost converter. Designed for Li-ion/polymer battery applications, the LTC3566 integrates a switching PowerPath manager, a standalone battery charger, a 1-A high-efficiency synchronous buck-boost regulator, an ideal diode and controller, plus an always-on LDO. The part is housed in a 4-mm × 4-mm QFN package.

The LTC3566's PowerPath control feature seamlessly manages power flow between multiple input sources such as a wall adapter or USB port and the lithium battery while preferentially providing power to the system load. In addition, its “instant-ON” operation ensures power to the system load even with a dead battery.

Jazz Semiconductor (www.jazzsemi.com), a provider of analog-intensive mixed-signal foundry solutions will announce the availability of high-power enhancements for its advanced bipolar CMOS DMOS (BCD) high-voltage process platform. Process enhancements include an R_DSON of 7.2 mΩ, 12-V NLDMOS, and superior power modeling capabilities. Jazz has applied its parasitic modeling experience in RF applications to power modeling. This modeling capability will allow IC designers to confidently design large drivers required in high-speed switching applications.

Linear Technology’s LTC3566 USB power manager with buckboost converter.

TT electronics IRC (www.ttelectronics.com) will introduce the ULR series of RoHS-compliant, surface-mount metal-element chip resistors featuring tight TCRs and low inductance values. These charcterisrics, along with a high power rating (3 W at 80°C), make these resistors well suited for current detection and monitoring. In these applications, the ULR series resistors enable minimizations of power consumption. In addition, these devices occupy smaller footprints than comparably rated wirewound resistors.

The ULR series resistors are available in 1206, 2010 and 2512 package sizes and feature power ratings of 1 W, 1.5 W, 2 W, 2.5 W and 3 W at 80°C. Resistance range is from 0.5 mΩ to 10 mΩ, with standard tolerances of ±1% and ±5% and TCRs as low as ±50 ppm/°C, depending on power rating and resistance value. The operating temperature ranges from -55°C to 170°C.

Molex (www.molex.com/product/power.html) will introduce its EXTreme PowerMass high-current power interconnect for power supply-to-system board power delivery. Designed as a modular stiffener-based system, EXTreme PowerMass is ideal for systems operating in challenging thermal-constrained spaces. It can be deployed in telecommunications, high-end and mid-range computers, power supplies and cellular communications applications.

Delivering up to 350 A per inch, EXTreme PowerMass is said to be one of the highest capacity board-to-board connectors on the market. Its multiple-capacity power modules (150 A, 80 A, 40 A) and wide signal count (24 to 64 circuits) capability allows more power to be placed where needed without wasting board space. This product specifies less than 1 mΩ of plane-to-plane resistance at end of life.

APtronic AG (www.APtronic.de) will be introducing a fast charger for high-power Li-ion batteries. An example application for the charger is the SEABOB, an over- and underwater vehicle for sport driving and diving. The charger delivers up to 1500 W of total output power at 45 Vdc to 50 Vdc and 0 A to 31 A. Both output voltage and current are adjustable via a microprocessor. The unit also features a universal input-voltage range with an input-current limit of 10 A.

The charger exhibits a power factor of greater than 95% in accordance with EN61000-3-2. It also offers Class 1 protection and less than 0.5 mA of leakage current. The charger is protected against short circuit, overload and overtemperature conditions, and features water protection per IP 65, salt-water detection and convection cooling.

Lambda’s ZWX-series industrial ATX power supplies.

Another power-supply product to be unveiled at APEC is Lambda's (www.lambdapower.com) ZWX-series of industrial low-profile ATX computer power supplies. These open-frame ac-dc power supplies provide the five voltages needed for high-end industrial computers including 3.3 V, 5 V, 12 V, -12 V and 5 V (standby) and are 1U rack/enclosure mountable. The ZWX300 includes a sixth output (a second 12 V) to support extra drives, memory and fans.

With convection-cooling, power ratings are 90 W, 120 W and 150 W. With forced-air cooling (30 cfm), these ratings jump to 153 W, 204 W and 255 W, respectively, and peak power ratings add from 30 W to 40 W to these figures. Package sizes range from 3.7 in. × 1.42 in × 8.27 in. up to 4.65 in. × 1.42 in. × 9.84 in.