COVER STORY


Simplify power designs with versatile DC-DC converters from TDK that offer unrivalled power density and ease of design


System power architectures can be very complex with semiconductor devices or subsystems operating from different voltages (1.8V, 3.3V or 5V) with current demands ranging from many amps in to microamps. An increasingly popular approach to this challenge is to employ a Point of Load (POL) power system architecture which allows a single power supply bus of typically 12V to be set up, where the voltage is then stepped down to the correct level locally using POL converters for each subsystem circuit or IC. This approach has a number of advantages, it allows the main power supply for the system to be simplified by reducing the number of output voltages that need to be delivered at that point. Because the voltage is being stepped down locally at the point of load, often adjacent to the semiconductor or subsystem, voltage drops, EMI circuit noise, parasitic capacitance and inductances which can be a common issue associated with long PCB tracks from the main system power supply to the component are also reduced. In this month’s edition, David Pearson, technical director at Anglia, introduces a range of POL DC-DC converters from TDK which offer one of the industry’s most compact and highest power density solutions for demanding power applications. This family of devices offers the system developer an efficient, and cost-effective solution for designing an architecture that can accommodate all of the particular power requirements that exist within the system.


TDK µPOL DC-DC converters


Point of Load DC-DC converters are a special type of switching power supply technology that has rapidly gained popularity due to their incredible efficiency, speed of response and compact size. POL DC-DC converters integrate a field effect power transistor (MOSFET) along with other required components into a single device, they often feature a fast response time to changes in the system load demand, allowing the components or subsystems being supplied to be powered-on quickly and efficiently.


The FS series of μPOL DC-DC converters from TDK ushers in a new era of power management solutions with increased performance, greater reliability, smallest available size, ease of use and simplified integration. The FS series of DC-DC converters are highly integrated point of load converters designed for powering CPUs, MCUs, ASICs, FPGAs, DSP, and other advanced digital logic devices, providing the high performance, fast load transient response, high accuracy voltage regulation and extremely compact footprint demanded by these devices. TDK have developed the FS series POL DC-DC converters to address the demanding requirements of a wide range of modern applications such as big data processing, machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), 5G cells, IoT, enterprise computing and many others besides.


The FS series POL converters are high current density power modules featuring a chip-embedded power IC in a thermally enhanced semiconductor-embedded-in-substrate package, this patented packaging solution does not use


10 February 2023 Components in Electronics


traditional internal wirebonds, improving reliability in harsh applications where shock and vibration may occur, the devices are qualified to 500m/s² (51G) for Shock and 10G multi axis for Vibration. The advanced embedded substrate package allows for greatly simplified, efficient thermal management and the devices have an extended industrial operating temperature range of -40°C to +125°C. The devices function as non-isolated step-down converters (Buck converter) and feature a wide input voltage range and configurable output voltages requiring minimal external components helping to significantly reduce component and placement costs. Furthermore, the stability of the converters is ensured internally, so there is also no need for external compensation components.


The FS series converters are designed to be scalable and are highly configurable with multi-time programmable memory, offering great flexibility. Rather than using a side by side discrete integrated circuit (IC) and discrete inductor (L), the FS series of µPOL DC-DC converters integrates a pulse-width modulation (PWM) controller, MOSFETs, plus inductor and capacitors into a single module (Fig.1), resulting in an extremely accurate regulator supplied in a compact configuration offering a high-density solution for space- constrained applications and those requiring a low-profile power source.


The TDK μPOL DC-DC converters are currently available in four variants with continuous output current capabilities of 3, 4, 6 and 12A, the converters accept input voltages up to 16V and feature pre-set output voltages of 2.5V, 3.3V, 5.0V


Figure 1 – Highly integrated module


or adjustable outputs from 0.6V to 2.5V depending on the model chosen. Power ratings are 15W for the 3 to 6A models and 25W for the 12A model. The 3, 4 and 6A devices have an integrated I2C interface, whilst the 12A device has a PMBus programming interface, both interfaces allow designers to configure the device for a wide range of applications. The FS series devices also incorporate several built-in protection features including pre-biased start-up, soft-start protection, over-voltage protection, thermally compensated over-current protection with hiccup mode and thermal shut-down with auto-recovery. Fig.2.


The FS series converters are extremely compact measuring just 3.3 x 3.3 x 1.5 mm for 3, 4 and 6A outputs and 5.8 mm x 4.9 mm x 1.6 mm for the 12A output model, both packages are LGA style with 17 and 22 pins respectively. The converters have been designed to minimize additional external components, allowing them to retain the highest


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