Controller Delivers High Accuracy and Light Load Efficiency for Industrial POLs

Intersil Corporation introduced the latest addition to its family of step-down PWM controllers, the ISL8115 single phase synchronous controller. Featuring a Vin range from 2.97V to 36V, the ISL8115 PWM controller offers ultra-wide voltage ranges and current sharing capability, making it suited for a variety of Point of Load (POL) dc-dc applications in industrial and infrastructure markets. The ISL8115 PWM controller enables system designers to maximize performance and reduce cost by providing a single controller for a variety of input voltages. This makes the device suited for telecom, data communications systems, industrial power supplies, and battery powered products that require the widest possible voltage ranges to maximize performance and minimize system costs.

The ISL8115's very wide Vin range of 2.97V to 36V allows it to support up to 5.5V output voltage using direct current resistance (DCR) sensing, maximizing efficiency in high current applications. The device's current sharing capability allows multiple modules to be connected in parallel via iShare bus to achieve higher output current and to reduce input and output ripple current, resulting in fewer components and reduced output dissipation. Current sharing coupled with phase delay enables the ISL8115 controller to achieve high current with up to six ISL8115-based POL modules in parallel operation. Configurable diode emulation mode improves efficiency under light load conditions.

In addition, by using voltage-mode PWM leading-edge modulation with non-linear control and input voltage feed-forward compensation, the ISL8115 maintains a constant loop gain for optimal fast transient response. Key features include: Differential voltage sensing with 1% internal voltage reference accuracy over the full industrial temperature range (-40C to 125C); Switching frequency is adjustable and can be synchronized with external clock signal; Adjustable peak current limit and average current hiccup OCP protection with continuous inductor DCR sensing; Integrated high speed 4A driver with internal bootstrap diode; and Programmable input voltage under-voltage lock-out control through EN pin.

The ISL8115 is available now in 24-lead TQFN packages at $1.85 each in 1,000-piece units. Two evaluation boards are available, the ISL8115Eval1Z for 12Vin to 1.5Vout 30A version and ISL8115Eval2Z for 28Vin to 5V 20A version. The ISL8115Eval1Z is priced at $98 each and ISL8115Eval2Z at $128 each.