Ericsson Sets the Standard for the Evolution of Board Power in Advanced Bus Converters
Ericsson's Advanced Bus Converter (ABC) footprint is fast becoming a new standard in digitally controlled power converters. Introduced in 2008, the Ericsson ABC footprint was designed to provide additional functionality to system architects developing advanced power architectures to reduce energy consumption and also increase flexibility in their operation and supply chain.
The Ericsson ABC footprint has been established as the de facto industry standard for Advanced Bus Converters, as it is used in more than 90% of the installed base of digitally controlled PMBus-based DC/DC products worldwide. Additionally, a growing number of companies are now developing Ericsson ABC footprint compatible products. Delivering a high level of robustness, low power losses, and an all-in-one interface for input/output (I/O) control and monitoring, the Ericsson platform is ready for future evolutions of Advanced Bus Converter technology including a greater level of integration into the digital power chain.
"Since its market introduction in 2008, the footprint for Ericsson's Advanced Bus Converter has become the de facto market standard and remains the only one offering full compatibility between surface-mount and through-hole-mounting products, while also enabling systems to evolve and offer more advanced features," said Patrick LeFèvre, Marketing and Communication Director, Ericsson Power Modules. "Growing market adoption and new possibilities offered by this evolving ABC footprint is significant recognition of the efforts achieved by Ericsson R&D to develop a footprint that is ready to meet the expectations of systems architects in the next few years."
The Ericsson ABC footprint was designed to simplify board layout and to provide room for power tracks without having to develop complex routing - all the I/O pins are arranged within a microconnector so are not subject to interference from the power pins. The original ABC layout also took into account new capabilities such as high current handling, which requires additional power pins, as used for example in 'The Double-P' (Thermally Enhanced Double Power Pins) industry standard for high-power converters.
As all the I/O pins are arranged in a single connector hosted between the power pins, this offers the possibility for evolution by adding two rows of four pins, offering up to 8 additional I/Os for new power architectures such as 'Fragmented Power Architectures', which require a high level of ABC communication. In addition, the five-pin version is backward compatible with industry-standard intermediate bus converters, thereby offering the possibility for board designers to upgrade existing boards by integrating the Ericsson DC/DC Energy Optimizer firmware. This firmware makes a significant contribution in the reduction of energy consumption and also eases the migration to more advanced digital-interface ABC technology.
Further bolstering the Ericsson ABC footprint, the company recently announced its leading-edge BMR456 and BMR457 Advanced Bus Converters, which also integrate the Ericsson DC/DC Energy Optimizer firmware. The BMR456 and BMR457 ABCs are part of the Ericsson 3E* products and patents portfolio. Through close cooperation with board and systems designers, Ericsson was the first to release a 21st century power architecture that can be fully integrated into the rest of the digital chain of processors and associated components.
Enhanced Performance, Energy Management, and End-user Value are the key benefits delivered by Ericsson's range of 3E digitally controlled DC/DC converters.
