Analog Devices Introduces Power Controllers for Notebook and Desktop Computers, Servers, and Gaming Consoles.

NORWOOD, Mass. -- Leveraging ADI's Proprietary Enhanced Pulse-Width-Modulation (EPWM) and Flex-Mode Architectures, New Controllers Optimize Board Performance and Stability, and Minimize Component Count

Analog Devices, Inc. (NYSE: ADI), a global leader in high-performance semiconductors for signal-processing applications, today extended its portfolio of power management ICs with a breakthrough power controller designed to improve system stability and reliability, while reducing board space and cost in notebook computers, desktop computers, servers and gaming consoles. The ADP3192 leverages ADI's enhanced pulse-width-modulation (EPWM(TM)) architecture, which provides faster response time and regulation of power supplies in systems using high-performance processors.

When performing graphic- or computationally-intensive tasks, these systems typically require large amounts of capacitance to efficiently respond to the CPU's power supply demands. The ADP3192 combines ADI's proprietary EPWM and Flex-mode(TM) architectures to dramatically reduce the number of capacitors required, allowing designers to reduce typical board space by as much as 30 percent, and lowering motherboard cost by as much as 15 percent. Furthermore, the EPWM architecture is a robust solution that promotes system reliability and stability by supporting next-generation CPUs that require much higher load-rate changes.

"As the processing demands in computers and gaming consoles increase, CPUs require accompanying solutions that can respond quickly and efficiently to shifting power needs," said John Blake, product line manager, Power Management, Analog Devices. "We have answered these challenges by taking an industry standard architecture--pulse-width-modulation--and enhancing it with a series of features and functions that stretch its performance limits. The result is the ADP3192, our first in a family of controllers to perform critical functions faster and more reliably, and at a fraction of the cost of existing patchwork solutions."

Previous power supply solutions required as many as 11 bulk capacitors to address the range of power needs in computers and gaming systems, resulting in a costly solution that demanded a great deal of board space. ADI's proprietary EPWM and Flex-mode architectures allow the ADP3192 to address the CPU's power needs faster with a non-linear control technique, which indicates the amount of current the power supply must support. Again, this load-step is consistently shifting depending on system requirements, such as the need to support high-resolution graphics.

About EPWM and the ADP3192 Power Controller

Analog Devices' EPWM development enhances the existing industry-standard pulse-width-modulation (PWM) architecture by increasing loop gain to improve transient response times when load step occurs. Furthermore, this enhanced architecture maintains accurate phase balance in all dynamic mode conditions. EPWM is an ADI patent-pending architecture. Flex-mode(TM), a patented technology, is a multi-mode control loop architecture designed to proportionally convert voltages across multiple inductors.

The ADP3192 is optimized for converting the 12-V main supply into the core output voltages (between 0.5 V and 1.6 V) required by high-performance processors. In doing so, it reads an 8-bit voltage identification (VID) code directly from the processor. The phase relationship of the output signals can be programmed to provide 2-, 3- or 4-phase operation, allowing for the construction of up to four complementary buck-switching stages. The ADP3192 also provides accurate and reliable short-circuit protection and adjustable current limiting.

Availability and Pricing

The ADP3192 is sampling now with full production scheduled for May 2006. The device is priced at $1.30 per unit in 1,000-piece quantities in a 40-pin LFCSP (lead frame chip scale package) and is specified over an operating temperature range of 0 degrees C to + 85 degrees C. For more information, visit www.analog.com/ADP3192.

About Analog Devices

Innovation, performance, and excellence are the cultural pillars on which Analog Devices has built one of the most long-standing, high-growth companies within the technology sector. Acknowledged industry-wide as the world leader in data conversion and signal conditioning technology, Analog Devices serves over 60,000 customers around the world, representing virtually all types of electronics equipment. Celebrating 40 years as a leading global manufacturer of high-performance integrated circuits used in analog and digital signal processing applications, Analog Devices, Inc. is headquartered in Norwood, Massachusetts, and employs approximately 8,900 people worldwide. It has manufacturing facilities in Massachusetts, California, North Carolina, Ireland, and the Philippines. Analog Devices' common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and ADI is included in the S&P 500 Index.

EPWM and Flex-mode are trademarks of Analog Devices, Inc.