New Industry Products

Artesyn Debuts VRM10 Series POL DC-DC Converters

August 25, 2004 by Jeff Shepard

Artesyn Technologies Inc. (Boca Raton, FL), a leader in power conversion solutions for the communications industry, launched its VRM10 Series of non-isolated, point-of-load (POL) dc-dc converters designed to meet the demanding core power requirements of latest-generation processors and fast switching logic.

The VRM10 Series offers a four-phase, buck conversion topology with interleaving to achieve a high equivalent switching frequency of 2.2MHz; conversion efficiencies of up to 86% when delivering 85 A at 1.4 V; fast transient response capabilities that extend to 930 A/µs; continuous current outputs as high as 85 A; a low installed height of just 1.24 in (31.5 mm); measurements of 3.19 in x 0.77 in (81 mm x 19.5 mm); operation from a nominal 12 Vdc input; voltage generation from 0.8375 Vdc to 1.6 Vdc; a programmable output voltage in 12.5 mV steps; step-changes in load current at high rates of 930 A/µs; and compliance with Intel's VRM10.0 and 10.1 specifications.

The VRM10 Series have an ambient operating range of 0 °C to +60 °C, with derating, and are primarily intended for environments that use forced-air cooling. For VID values of 1.4 V or less and ambient temperatures of 45 °C or less, the VRM10-80-12-P can continuously deliver its full 80 A output current with 400 LFM of airflow, and the VRM10-85-12-U can continuously deliver its full 85 A output current with 600 LFM of airflow. Both converters feature remote sense and remote on/off capabilities, have no minimum load requirement, and are comprehensively protected against fault conditions.

The VRM10-80-12-P has a maximum continuous current rating of 80 A, a load line impedance of 1.24 milliohms (maintaining load regulation to 1.24 mV/A), and is principally intended for powering Pentium 4 processors. The VRM10-85-12-U can deliver up to 85 A continuously, has a load line impedance of 1.25 milliohms (maintaining load regulation to 1.25 mV/A), and is optimized for use with for high-end server-type processors such as the Xeon.

The new VRM10 Series processor power POL converters are available for immediate delivery. In quantities of 1,000, unit prices are $35.25 for the VRM10-80-12-P and $36.35 for the VRM10-85-12-U. Standard lead time for both models is stock to 8 to 12 weeks.