Technology Update: Power Integrations

Apr 1, 2010 12:00 PM
BALU BALAKRISHNAN Power Integrations, Inc., Sunnyvale, California

Power Integrations, Inc. designs and manufactures ICs used in switch-mode power supplies. Most of the company's ICs are used in ac-dc switchers, although it also targets certain high-voltage dc-dc applications, such as power over Ethernet (PoE). Following

LINKSWITCH® FAMILY

LinkSwitch Family products incorporate a high-voltage power MOSFET, oscillator, simple ON/OFF control scheme, a high-voltage switched current source, frequency jittering, cycle-by-cycle current limit and thermal shutdown circuitry onto a monolithic IC. The startup and operating power are derived directly from the DRAIN pin, eliminating the need for a bias winding and associated circuitry. Typical applications include: chargers/adapters for cell/cordless phones, PDAs, digital cameras, MP3/portable audio players, and shavers and supplies for appliances, industrial systems, and metering. Following are members of the LinkSwitch family:

LINKSWITCH-CV - The LinkSwitch-CV (Figure 1) dramatically simplifies CV power supply design with tight CV requirements and by eliminating an optocoupler and secondary control circuitry. The device introduces a revolutionary control technique to provide very tight output voltage regulation, along with input voltage variations and temperature.

LINKSWITCH-II - For low power adapters and chargers (cell/cordless phones, PDAs, digital cameras, portable audio etc), LinkSwitch-II dramatically simplifies low power CV/CC charger designs by eliminating an optocoupler and secondary control circuitry. The device introduces a revolutionary control technique to provide very tight output voltage and current regulation, compensating for transformer and internal parameter tolerances along with input voltage variations.

LINKSWITCH-XT - For low power adapters and chargers (cell/cordless phones, PDAs, digital cameras, portable audio etc), as well as auxiliary supplies employed in applications such as white goods

LINKSWITCH-LP - Replace inefficient line frequency linear transformer based power supplies with output powers 2.5 W in applications such as cell/cordless phones, PDAs, digital cameras, and portable audio players, as well as auxiliary supplies employed in applications such as white goods.

LINKSWITCH-TN - Replace all linear and capacitor-fed (cap dropper) non-isolated power supplies in the under 360 mA output current range at equal system cost while offering much higher performance and energy efficiency.

TINYSWITCH® FAMILY

The TinySwitch families of products combine a high voltage power MOSFET switch with a power supply controller in one device, offering a flexible design solution with low system cost and extended power capability. Unlike conventional PWM (Pulse Width Modulator) controllers, TinySwitch uses a simple ON/OFF control to regulate the output voltage.

TINYSWITCH-III - TinySwitch-III incorporates a 700 V power MOSFET, oscillator, high voltage switched current source, current limit (user selectable) and thermal shutdown circuitry. The controller consists of an oscillator, enable circuit (sense and logic), current limit state machine, 5.85 V regulator, bypass/ multi-function pin undervoltage, overvoltage circuit, and current limit selection circuitry, over- temperature protection, current limit circuit, leading edge blanking, and a 700 V power MOSFET. TinySwitch-III incorporates additional circuitry for line undervoltage sense, auto-restart, adaptive switching cycle on-time extension, and frequency jitter.

TINYSWITCH-PK - For applications with higher peak current requirements. Its peak mode feature boosts current limit and frequency for peak load conditions. The boosted current limit provides the peak output power while the increased peak mode frequency ensures the transformer can be sized for continuous load conditions rather than peak power demands.

TOPSWITCH® FAMILY

The proven topology of TOPSwitch cost effectively integrates the high voltage power MOSFET, PWM control, fault protection and other control circuitry onto a single CMOS chip. Both incorporate a 700 V power MOSFET, high voltage switched current source, PWM control, oscillator, thermal shutdown circuit, fault protection and other control circuitry onto a monolithic device.

TOPSWITCH-JX is the latest generation product in the TOPSwitch line, TOPSwitch-JX (Figure 2) features an integrated PSU controller and 725 V power MOSFET and delivers 20 mW output power for 100 mW input power in standby mode. Multi-mode control maximizes power efficiency across the entire load range. The IC also incorporates a fast AC-reset circuit, which significantly reduces the number of primary-side components required.

DPA-SWITCH® FAMILY

The DPA-Switch IC family is a highly integrated solution for dc-dc conversion applications with 16-75 VDC input. DPA-Switch uses the same proven topology as TOPSwitch, effectively integrating a power MOSFET, PWM control, fault protection and other control circuitry onto a single CMOS chip. High performance features are enabled with three user-configurable pins. Hysteretic thermal shutdown is also provided. Also, all critical parameters (i.e. current limit, frequency, PWM gain) have tight temperature and absolute tolerance, to simplify design and reduce system cost.

Table 1 lists the maximum power output for members of this family. The maximum power is limited by device internal current limit. Available packages include, but are not available for all family members:

P: DIP-8

G: SMD-8

R: TO-263-7C

HIPER® FAMILY

The Hiper family of highly integrated, high efficiency, high power ICs is Power Integrations' newest line of product. HiperPLC (Figure 3) is the first member of the family, and combines a Continuous Conduction Mode (CCM) PFC controller, an LLC resonant converter and high voltage (600V) half-bridge drivers in a single IC package. It is targeted at applications for high-efficiency offline power converters in the power range of 200 to 600 watts, such as flat-panel TVs, high- efficiency PC main power and workstation power supplies, and the latest generations of high-brightness LED streetlights.

PEAKSWITCH®

Audio amplifiers that typically use bulky linear power supplies can instead use PeakSwitch ICs to provide higher effiiciency, smaller, low-cost power supplies that allow better audio quality, dynamic response, and peak power capability. PeakSwitch supplies can support audio power systems rated to more than 500 watt rms. Their ability to supply very high peak requirements means that the 75W (continuous) rated PKS607YN can effortlessly support a home theater system rated at 500 W. Characteristics of PeakSwitch power supplies include:

• Excellent transient response that improves audio quality

• Low component count, compact and lightweight

• High energy efficiency, >75% efficiency at full load and 300 mW no-load power consumption at 265 VAC

• Reduced heat sink requirements

• Eliminates need for separate standby supply

Continue to next page.

Acceptable Use Policy blog comments powered by Disqus