New Industry Products

ON Semi Introduces Dual-Output DC-DC Converter for Powering Active Matrix OLED Displays in Portable Multimedia Devices

June 10, 2007 by Jeff Shepard

ON Semiconductor has introduced the NCP5810 – a 2W dual output dc-dc converter that offers both positive and negative output. The device’s claimed output voltage accuracy, high switching frequency, and small package size makes it particularly suitable for powering a display driver in Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diodes (Active Matrix OLED or AMOLED) panel, an emerging display technology for portable applications.

"The NCP5810 presents great advantages for the AMOLED power supply," said Manor Narayanan, Vice President and General Manager of ON Semiconductor’s Digital and Consumer Products Group. "ON Semiconductor is dedicated to working with customers to design devices that meet their specific needs. A successful example of such collaboration is the NCP5810, which has been selected by the leading display manufacturer to power the new AMOLED panel for ultra thin portable multimedia devices and is already in mass production."

Active Matrix OLED, which the company claims only a handful of display manufacturers will be ready to go mass production with later this year or next year, is said to deliver better color contrast and video playback quality than today’s LCD displays but creates added power management challenges for design engineers. For example, because AMOLED displays are sensitive to changes in power supply voltages, ON Semiconductor designed the NCP5810 to provide accurate feedback voltage with 1% tolerance and a fast line transient response with overshoot of 4mV, given a 500mV input voltage variation.

Featuring high overall efficiency up to 85% at 1.75MHz oscillator frequency, the NCP5810 dual output dc-dc converter is said to deliver best-in-class performance. In order to complement the slim form factor of AMOLED display, the converter switches at the high 1.75MHz frequency, allowing the use of small inductors and ceramic capacitors. Its ultra-thin package with 0.55mm thickness allows the NCP5810 to fit into the thinnest portable design form factor. In addition, it preserves battery power in shut-down mode with true cut-off function that limits the leakage display current to typically 1µA. Additionally, the NCP5810 features cycle-by-cycle peak current limit and thermal shut down protection.

Available in the ultra-thin 3.0 mm x 3.0 mm x 0.55 mm LLGA-12 package, the NCP5810 is budgetary priced at $1.20 USD per unit in 3,000 unit quantities.