IC Makers Roll Out New Power Management Device

Efficiency: Whether it's for base stations, data centers, servers or cell phones, designers search for devices that will parcel out power as efficiently as possible. Using such devices, they can create products that use less power and add new features.“Our handset customers are always integrating new functions into their cell phones,” notes Kent Heath, director of cellular product operations for Freescale Semiconductor. “All of those new functions are being crammed into teeny, razor-thin cell phones and have to be supported from a power standpoint. Most vendors are still figuring out how to do that.”The following are three power management devices from Freescale, Texas Instruments and Analog Devices, designed to help with products ranging from cell phones to servers.

ADI's power Management Bus Interface

Analog Devices put a new twist on power management by teaming with Intel Corp. to develop a new way to efficiently communicate heat dissipation, voltage management and control information to safeguard performance of desktop computers, workstations and servers. The two companies created a new bus interface called the System Serial Transport (SST) bus that enables faster and more precise communication of system efficiency. By relaying information to the computer's core logic chipset with greater speed and accuracy, the SST bus is said to dramatically reduce thermal management errors that can potentially harm computing performance. Recently, ADI augmented the SST announcement with the rollout of SST-enabled sensors, known as the ADT748X family. Get more information on SST and its sensors.

Texas instruments' 32-bit dsp

Texas Instruments' 32-bit DSP-based allows designers to transition to software-controlled, digital power management. Known as the TMS320F28044, the new digital signal controller is targeted at multi-channel or power rail dc/dc point-of-load applications, such as telecommunications infrastructure, laptop computers and digital televisions. It is said to be the industry's only single programmable controller to combine 100 MHz of DSP performance with the ability to manage up to 16 dc/dc conversion channels. Moreover, TI claims that software control makes it possible for a single hardware implementation to meet the needs of a wide range of different products. Get more information on Texas Instruments' 32-bit DSP.

Freescale's Power Management and Audio Device

Freescale's Power Management and User Interface (PMUI) chip offers a suite of powerful audio and multimedia features targeted at 3G phones, mobile gaming units and portable media players. It includes a full audio system, battery charger system, lighting system, five switching regulators, 18 linear regulators, USB transceiver, car-kit interface and touch-screen interface. To accomplish that, Freescale engineers say they employed CMOS technology augmented with specialized capabilities. “To get all those features to work together on a single die, we saw a very clear requirement for specialized process technologies,” Heath says. Get more information about Freescale's MC13783.