Advantages and Challenges of Point-of-Load (POL) Regulators

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Advantages and Challenges of Point-of-Load (POL) Regulators [Copy link]

Point-of-load power supply: Big power brings big challenges

POL (point-of-load): It should mean the point of load. The point-of-load power supply you are talking about is the DC/DC regulator distributed at the front end of each functional unit circuit

While integration is good for many reasons, each increase in integration is usually accompanied by the need for more power. Point-of-load power (POL) regulators are good at providing power where it is needed and at the right level, but they also face challenges.

These challenges include high efficiency and appropriate power density, and of course, expansion into programmability and flexibility, with fast transient response, tight tolerances and precision. All of this must be combined in a solution with reliable current and voltage protection and excellent thermal management.

Power conversion and regulation need to reach new levels of efficiency to deliver more power without eating into the thermal budget. At the same time, manufacturers want higher levels of integration and smaller PCB footprints, so is it possible to meet all of these requirements?

High current POL applications do present a number of challenges, but the FAN6500XX product family has been designed to handle these issues. The FAN65004B/5A/8B series can deliver up to 100 W of power with high efficiency up to 95%, providing excellent thermal performance with only 29°C temperature rise in a small 6x6mm PQFN 35 package. In addition, the FAN 65 series has an energy-saving mode to achieve higher efficiency under light load conditions.

The FAN6500xx is a multi-chip module that contains all the active devices required to generate an intermediate bus for POL applications, including a synchronous buck PWM controller, driver, and two MOSFETs (high-side and low-side). This high level of integration reduces the need for multiple external components while enabling the use of optimal output filter inductors and capacitors. Optimized package design, strong analog expertise, and excellent quality factor (FOM) of the MOSFET make the FAN6500XX a best-in-class solution.

A huge advantage of developing all devices in a multi-chip solution is the ability to optimize the design between gate drivers and MOSFETs. The FAN6500XX uses ON Semiconductor's PowerTrench MOSFET technology. This shield gate (shield) The wide Vin (65V) product family is available in 6A, 8A or 10A output currents. Pin compatibility and scalability between all devices ensure that original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) can select the most ideal device for their application, even after the PCB design is completed. The fixed frequency voltage mode PWM control topology supports easy compensation, low output ripple and low electromagnetic interference (EMI). The FAN6500XX provides optimized performance for high duty cycle (suffix "A") and low duty cycle (suffix "B") applications.

Higher power requirements are addressed by a programmable and synchronizable switching frequency (100 kHz-1 MHz) feature, which ensures low input ripple when multiple FAN6500XX devices are used in parallel.

Supporting a wide input voltage range of 4.5 V to 65 V, the FAN6500XX devices are suitable for a wide range of applications in industrial and consumer electronics, from servers and base station power supplies to home automation. They are also suitable for battery management systems, as well as USB Power Delivery (PD) applications.