Ultra-Integrated DC-DC Buck Converter For Low-Power And Portable Applications

Enpirion, Inc. recently unveiled its new line of ultra-integrated buck converters for low-power and portable applications, moving the footprint versus efficiency curve to its theoretical limit. The result halves the footprint area without compromising power efficiency. Enpirion's low-power products are believed to be the world's smallest power systems on silicon, integrating a PWM controller, MOSFET switches, compensation network, and a power inductor, in a single 5 mm x 4 mm x 1.1 mm QFN package. According to Enpirion, they are ideally suited for portable handheld applications like smart phones, personal media players, mobile gaming platforms, and any products where space is at a premium.

Enpirion says that its power devices represent the first major innovation in integrated power conversion technology in over a decade. The small footprint and low part count of the EP53x2Q chips make them the solution of choice for flexible portable system architectures where designers need to populate a diverse range of features tailored to specific customer requirements. The Enpirion devices are also believed to be a key in the ongoing trend to replace inefficient linear regulators with switching converters, extending battery life as performance and functionality increase.

"Enpirion has targeted an important segment of the market with these new products," stated Jeff Shepard, President of Darnell Group, Inc. "These three devices span about 30 percent of the market for discrete DC-DC converters. Sales of discrete converters between 0.5 A and 1 A will be about 2.2 billion units in 2006."

The EP53x2Q Product Family

• The EP53x2Q converters operate at up to 5 MHz switching frequency, which reduces the size of filter components and enables an order of magnitude improvement in transient performance.
• The 5 mV peak-to-peak output voltage ripple is ideally suited to portable applications with sensitive RF subsystems.
• The integrated compensation network affords stability over all operating conditions with 10–60 ìF of output filter capacitance.
• The EP53x2Q family of buck converters requires two ceramic filter capacitors for a complete solution. These devices have excellent transient performance and low output ripple.
• The EP53x2Q family supports load currents of 500, 600, and 800 mA.
• The voltage output for the EP53x2Q is programmed using a 3-pin voltage select scheme allowing the designer to choose from one of seven pre-defined voltages, or an external divider may be used. The voltage select pins can be changed on the fly to implement dynamic voltage scaling.

SOURCE: Enpirion, Inc.