power supply design, WEBENCH Visualizer, National Semiconductor,

National Semiconductor’s WEBENCH Visualizer Enables Real-Time Comparison of Power Solutions Across Multiple Criteria

News Release from: National Semiconductor
09/11/2009

National Semiconductor has introduced WEBENCH Visualizer, a powerful comparison and selection tool that enables engineers to rapidly select an optimal power system design. WEBENCH Visualizer creates a graphical snapshot of options across multiple criteria, such as power efficiency, footprint and system bill of materials (BOM) cost. Drawing from 25 different switching power supply architectures and 21,000 components, engineers can navigate through billions of power supply design alternatives in seconds. Design criteria can be modified and the real-time effects observed, allowing engineers to select the best DC-DC power supply based on their unique needs.

“With WEBENCH Visualizer, National has enabled analogue experts to be superior business decision makers because we’ve given them all of the tools to produce the best possible design in the shortest time,” said Phil Gibson, vice president of Technical Sales Tools at National Semiconductor. “We’ve also given non-power experts the ability to do extraordinary things with analogue power designs.”

National’s WEBENCH Visualizer tool supports a variety of power supply topologies such as buck, boost, buck-boost, SEPIC and flyback. Several alternative circuit configurations are also available to address specific needs like fixed-frequency and constant-on-time architectures as well as current-mode and voltage-mode control loops. With the broadest power parts library from 110 manufacturers, designers can specify a wide range of parameters:

* VIN from 1V – 100V
* VOUT from 0.6V – 300V
* Power up to 300W
* Efficiency up to 96 percent
* Frequency up to 3 MHz
* Footprint from 14 mm by 14 mm