Controller meets design challenges with digital control loop

The device meets designers' challenges by integrating a digital control loop, optimized for maximum flexibility and stability, as well as for load transient and steady state performance. The controllers transient response reduces output capacitance, with the non-linear control feature improving transient response by a factor of two versus competing analog solutions. 

The fuse-based, on-board NVM and I²C^TM/PMBUS^M interface enables user configuration and communication with a supervisory controller for monitoring and fault management. This allows for rapid power subsystem development and debugging which, in turn, accelerates time to market. The I²C^TM/ PMBUS interface allows for real time monitoring of input voltage, output voltage/current and internal/external temperature.  The device can operate from a single bias supply voltage of 5V or 3.3V.  The Micrel Digital Designer GUI can be used to configure the device, whilst the full suite of power management features eliminates the need for complicated and expensive sequencing and monitoring of the IC. The device can also be reconfigured with PMBUS commands during runtime.

The PWM controller is available in a 24-pin 4mm x 4mm QFN package with an operating temperature range from ­40ºC to +85ºC. The device is available in volume quantity with 1,000 quantity pricing starting at $3.75.  

"The MIC21000 is Micrel's first of a family of digital control, intelligent DC/DC controllers targeting cloud computing servers, computing and communication systems," commented Brian Hedayati, Vice President of Marketing for high performance linear and power solutions at Micrel.  "With the increasing demand for fault tolerant continuous operation for these systems, power designers need to design power management solutions capable of monitoring all the operating power conditions and responding to failures in real time.  Moreover, digitally controlled power management products enable system designers to optimize their designs via software changes reducing design cycle time.  With the release of this first digital controller, Micrel is committed to bringing to market differentiated products targeting the cloud computing segment which is growing much faster than other computing segments."