Primarion Launches Di-POL(TM) Family of Low-Cost, Programmable Digital Integrated Power Conversion and Power Management ICs with Single-Phase Controller.

TORRANCE, Calif. -- Di-POL(TM) PX7510 Power IC Offers Configurable Digital Power Management for Point-of-Load Applications with Extensive Library of PMBus Commands and Real-Time System Monitoring 

Primarion, a mixed signal semiconductor company that provides digital control of power and I/O solutions, today announced the launch of its first product from the Primarion Di-POL(TM) product family of low-cost, programmable digital power conversion and power management ICs.

Priced competitively with existing analog solutions, the Primarion PX7510 is a Power Conversion and Power Management IC for non-isolated DC/DC converters in telecom, datacom, computing and storage markets. This highly configurable digital control IC utilizes PMBus(TM) and on-chip non-volatile memory (NVM) for extensive user-friendly control and real-time system monitoring.

The PX7510 utilizes digital technology to implement all control functions, providing the ultimate in adaptable, stable and flexible solutions. By incorporating an industry standard I2C PMBus serial interface for control and monitoring, Primarion enables the power supply designer to quickly optimize designs and monitor real-time system performance.

Configurations for the PX7510 are easily loaded, edited and saved to NVM over the device's I2C serial interface, using Primarion's graphical user interface (GUI). With configurations stored on the IC, the controller can perform real-time adjustments to the designer's previously configured settings and thereby optimize performance accuracy without the delay of accessing outside memory storage. With other technologies, many of these functions would typically require an external microcontroller. This ultimate flexibility offered by the fully digital control, PMBus and GUI allows the power management performance of the PX7510 to be optimized within an already existing system.

The PX7510 operates on a single +5V supply and has a switching frequency range of 150KHz to 2MHz. The PX7510 is capable of current sharing and can therefore easily adapt from single-phase to a multi-phase operation by synchronizing up to four controllers to balance the power supply current between phases.

Additional features of the PX7510 include:

--Internal voltage and temperature referencing

--Internal oscillator (no external reference required)

--Current, temperature and 12V sense telemetry 

--Single-pin current sharing for dual- and multi-phase

--Digital control loop and Active Voltage Positioning (AVP)

--Configurable PWM generator

--PMBus-compatible serial interface (library of 60 core PMBus commands)

--Comprehensive fault protection and reporting along with programmable fault behavior

--Start-up into pre-biased load

--Margining of the output voltage over the serial interface

The PX7510 provides superior accuracy through internal calibration that measures and corrects current sense error sources upon startup. The programmable current sense temperature compensation allows the designer to tailor the response for the best accuracy over temperature.

"The PX7510 utilizes Primarion's digital technology to create a power solution that offers flexibility, adaptability and PMBus communication in a single chip that cannot be accomplished in the analog world -- for the same cost and density," notes Milan Jovanovic, CTO of the Power Systems Business Group of Delta Electronics. "The partnership between Delta and Primarion has been instrumental in the definition of the PX7510 controller. The PX7510 specification meets the highest levels of power management requirements for the 'Point-of-Load' markets while setting a new standard for digital and analog power solutions in the marketplace."

"What I like about the new POL controller from Primarion is that it appears to have been driven from a more mainstream design mandate than other devices introduced to the market thus far," said Christopher Ambarian, Senior Analyst, Power Management at iSuppli Corp. "There is a lurking suspicion among power supply designers that digital control will be great, someday, but surely it costs too much at this point. Primarion appears to be proactively and aggressively addressing that perception, and their partnership with a mainstream power supply company like Delta is an indication that they are moving the cost of digitalized power controllers in the right direction. In addition, the programming user interface appears to make simple work of optimizing the controller for any given design situation."

The Primarion PX7510 is currently sampling to top-tier customers and is available for general sampling. The PX7510 is available in a RoHS-compliant 5mm-x-5mm 32-lead Micro Lead Frame (MLF) package. Pricing starts at US$1.75 in quantities of 1,000.

More information about the PX7510 is available by contacting Primarion at [phone] or [e-mail] or by visiting the company's Web site at http://www.primarion.com.

About Primarion

Primarion is a mixed signal integrated circuit company that addresses key inflection points in power and I/O driven by the exploding demand for digital content and information. Primarion's Digital Power ICs are positioned to beat traditional analog power ICs in cost per amp, performance and features with advantages that grow with each new processor generation. Primarion I/O ICs enable digitally controlled optical links for storage, networking and computing. Headquartered in Torrance near Los Angeles, California, the company also has offices in Phoenix, Arizona, and Taipei, Taiwan. Primarion has received venture funding from eminent venture funds and strategic partners such as Accel Partners, Lehman Brothers, APV Technology Partners, W Capital Partners and Intersil. Additional information is available online at http://www.primarion.com.