All-Digital POL Supports PMBus

Jun 27, 2006 4:41 PM

A member of the Di-POL product family, Primarion’s dual-phase PX7520 is a fully programmable digital power conversion and power management IC for point-of-load converters (POLs). The device utilizes PMBus and on-chip non-volatile memory (NVM) for extensive user-friendly control and real-time system monitoring.

The PX7520 uses digital technology to implement all control functions. By incorporating an I²C PMBus serial interface for control and monitoring, the power supply designer can quickly optimize designs and monitor real-time system performance. Configurations for the PX7520 are easily loaded, edited, and saved to NVM via the I²C interface, using Primarion’s graphical user interface (GUI). With configurations stored on the IC, the controller can perform real-time adjustments to the designer’s previously configured settings and thereby optimize performance accuracy without the delay of accessing outside memory storage. With other technologies, many of these configurable functions would typically require an external microcontroller.

The PX7520 operates on a single +5-V supply and has a switching frequency range of 150 kHz to 2 MHz. Accurate current sharing between phases and with other members of the Di-POL family, including PX7510, enables the flexibility to support any multi-phase operation for increased power requirements. Additional features of the PX7520 available via all-digital control include a configurable PWM generator, single-pin accurate current sharing for multi-phase operation, start-up into pre-biased load and internal voltage and temperature referencing.

The Primarion PX7520 is now available for general sampling in a 5-mm x 5-mm 32-lead MLF package. Unit pricing starts at $2.25 in quantities of 1000.