Semtech launches new products to target digital power market

In an interview, Semtech recently detailed several of the company's recently launched power management products, which use Semtech's unique architecture to provide higher performance options for power conversion and control.

EocSpeed ​​Architecture

Scott Brown, vice president of power management at Semtech, emphasized that the new products use the company's EcoSpeed ​​architecture, which can achieve the best conventional current mode, voltage mode and continuous real-time control topology. The architecture also has ultra-fast transient response, providing high efficiency from light load to full load, while eliminating external compensation components, making the entire power management design simple and space-saving. The EcoSpeed ​​architecture uses an advanced control loop that can dynamically adjust the working time based on the input voltage and output voltage. Mike Wong, vice president of power management application design at Semtech, said that compared with traditional voltage mode and current mode topologies, this method improves the accuracy of pseudo-fixed frequency operation to ±15%, and also improves the predictability of electromagnetic interference. In addition, the architecture is also superior to continuous real-time and hysteresis architectures because the latter's frequency is difficult to predict.

Based on the EcoSpeed ​​architecture, Semtech's recently launched SC173 and SC174 buck regulators emphasize their high efficiency within the full load range and have excellent performance in second-generation dynamic load point (POL) applications. The two devices can convert between 200kHz and 1MHz, so designers can optimize the power supply to maximize conversion efficiency or expand the scale of the solution. The new product also incorporates Semtech's proprietary SmartDrive technology, which is a two-step, high-side FET turn-on technology designed to reduce electromagnetic interference to noise-sensitive devices.

In addition, low-power standby is becoming more and more important, but fast "wake-up" capabilities also require a quick switch from low-power standby mode to full-power steady-state mode. SC173 and SC174 use supersonic power saving (UPSAVE) mode to overcome this problem. This mode reduces the switching frequency to meet the low power requirements in standby mode, and the reduction in switching frequency also reduces the power loss caused by the discharge of the FET input terminal, so the energy efficiency in standby mode reaches 95%, and when the load switches from standby mode to steady-state mode, EcoSpeed ​​technology's "cycle-by-cycle response fast exit UPSAVE" mode can provide a very short power increase response time. In addition, UPSAVE mode can also ensure that the device switching frequency remains above 25kHz, which eliminates audible resonance.

With the design flexibility and reliability provided by the EcoSpeed ​​architecture, SC173 and SC174 are compatible with ceramic input and output capacitors, and without the need for external compensation components, the entire BOM cost is greatly reduced and the customer's design time is reduced. The output current of SC173 and SC174 is 3A and 4A respectively, and it adopts a 10-layer pad, 3.0mm×3.0mm×1.0mm, lead-free, halogen-free MLPD package.

AOT Controller Architecture

Scott also introduced the company's first digitally controlled 28V EcoSpeed ​​I2C PWM controller SC493, which is mainly developed for the digital power market to meet complex power management needs. Users can digitally configure and query the status of the controller through an I2C bus. The new device uses Semtech's patented adaptive on-time (AOT) controller architecture with ultra-fast transient response and high efficiency. Scott said that if a fully digital topology is adopted, high-speed data converters and energy-consuming DSPs are required. The SC493 uses the best adaptive on-time EcoSpeed ​​controller core in its class and is equipped with a digital interface, thereby providing an efficient and high-performance analog core while having the flexibility of digital control.

The I2C bus of the SC493 can be used to accurately adjust the output voltage and achieve margin, as well as set output enable/disable, switching frequency, power-on delay time, soft start time, energy-saving mode, and ultrasonic energy-saving frequency. The status relay bit of the I2C can be used for diagnostics, including current limit, overheating, overvoltage/undervoltage, undervoltage/brownout and power good.

Scott emphasized that the AOT core can provide the best common current mode, voltage mode and fixed on-time control structure with minimal compromise. This architecture can achieve excellent static and dynamic regulation capabilities, and is very efficient from light load to full power load. At the same time, no external compensation components are required, providing a simple, space-saving and cost-effective power management solution. This feature of AOT technology combined with the programmable capability of I2C makes the SC493 very suitable for high-current, distributed main power rails in various embedded applications, such as networking, communications, industrial and office automation equipment.

Scott said that the switching frequency of the SC493 can be modified by programming, ranging from 250kHz to 1MHz, and the power rail can be optimized according to the conversion efficiency or solution size. The device also uses SmartDrive technology, which reduces EMI in noise-sensitive applications and provides a powerful FET gate drive capability that can support a maximum output current of 25A.