Compact Power Supply Boosts Efficiency

Dealing with the power portion of a system can frequently be one of the more challenging aspects of completing an electronic system design, especially for those who do not design power circuits. With government regulations and efforts to limit standby power consumption, designing an efficient ac to dc power supply becomes an even greater challenge. A small ready-to-use switch-mode power supply could simplify the make versus buy decision.

To meet the needs of the global marketplace where supply voltages of 120V ac @ 60 Hz or 240V ac @ 50 Hz are just a few of the possibilities, Bias Power’s supplies accept a universal input of 85 to 265V ac. Single or dual outputs of 8, 14 and 8 plus 5V dc are available. The supplies operate with nominal 75 percent efficiency and no-load power consumption of less than 30 mW. A patented circuit design that isolates the input path when conducted noise occurs eliminates the need for a line EMI filter that normally requires additional space.

Available in 1/2, 1 and 2W sizes, the power supplies comply with UL, CSA, IEC, FCC and meet or exceed “green” efficiency standards, such as the U.S. EPA Energy Star requirements. The newest 2W version, BPS-2, is 1 x 1.35 x ½ inch and occupies a volume well under 1 cubic inch.

In one motorized appliance application http://biaspower.com/pages/application_notes.asp, the BPS power supply reduced the parts count from 12 to only two, the supply and a relay, simplifying the purchase and inventory of components and reducing board space by more than 50 percent.

Designed for standby mode and other low-power applications, the supply has the capability to charge highly capacitive loads such as supercapacitors. Appliance controls, lighting controls and industrial instrumentation are among the applications taking advantage of the purchased power solution. However, it is also being used in ZigBee and other wireless chip modules.

	Promoted as the world’s smallest ac/dc switching power, Bias Power’s BPS 1-08-50 uses a patented technique to eliminate electromagnetic interference (EMI) on the line without an input filter capacitor reducing the power supply’s space requirements even further.