Summit Micro Introduces Multi-Output Programmable Power Manager With Digital Control
Summit Microelectronics has announced the latest addition to the company’s family of multi-output programmable power manager ICs. The SMB119 is targeted at portable consumer equipment and integrates seven precision programmable regulators and a wide range of digital power control functions. This "one-chip" solution is said to offer the highest design flexibility in the industry, and to reduce system solution size and cost.
Summit claims that its "easy-to-use" PC-based graphical (GUI) development environment lets system designers digitally program the entire multiple output power supply and associated power management functions with a few clicks of a mouse. In high-volume production Summit provides product that is pre-programmed with the customer’s "custom configuration" at no extra cost. According to the company, compared to inflexible conventional analog power ICs, the SMB119 yields optimized power system designs in significantly shorter development time.
The SMB119 incorporates three synchronous step-down converters, two step-up converters, one configurable step-up or step-down converter, and one low-dropout (LDO) linear regulator. Also included is a fully programmable system supervisor that monitors all channels for under-voltage and over-voltage events. The user can select how the SMB119 should react under abnormal conditions (assertion of RESET output, power-down in sequencing order or force shutdown), thereby maximizing system reliability.
The power manager operates at a switching frequency of 1MHz, allowing for space-saving system components. Dc-dc power conversion efficiency of up to 95% reduces thermal dissipation and improves battery life in portable systems. Further enhancing battery life, a shutdown mode reduces current consumption to 0.1mA while automatic PWM/PFM operation improves light load efficiency. A PWM-override mode is also available for noise sensitive RF or audio applications. Short circuit current limiting and thermal protection safety circuits are also built-in to enhance reliability.
The SMB119 provides Digital Power Management via an I²C interface and non-volatile memory allowing the user to configure power functions and parameters for each channel: individual channel enabling/disabling, power-up/down sequencing, power-up slew rate control, static and dynamic output voltage control (Dynamic Voltage Management). A broad range of intelligent power system diagnostics and monitoring functions can be easily accessed via the I²C serial interface and digital status outputs. These include input and output monitoring for under/over-voltage/over-current (UV/OV/OC) and integrated RESET control. Enhancing flexibility even further, the device can be programmed during development and then used in a "fixed" configuration, or it may be re-programmed in-system via the I²C interface.
The SMB119 is suitable for a wide range of portable consumer electronics such as digital still cameras/camcorders (DSC/DCC), portable media players (MP3/MPEG4), GPS terminals, portable medical equipment, personal digital assistants (PDAs), as well as the next generation of "smart" mobile phones. The dynamic voltage management feature is particularly useful in Xscale and ARM CPU applications and where LED backlight brightness control is desired.
The SMB119 operates directly from +2.7V to +6.0V input making it suitable for 1-cell Li-Ion (+3.0V to +4.2V) battery applications, although line-powered applications are readily supported as well. The device has an operating temperature range of +0 to +70°C or -40 to +85°C and is available in the 7 x 7mm 48-pad QFN package that is lead-free and RoHS-standard compliant.
Available now in production quantities, the device is priced at $3.74 each in quantities of 10,000 units.
