Efficient power management IC for nano applications

With the BD71837AMWV for i.MX 8M Quad and Dual applications processors and the BD71847AMWV for i.MX 8M Mini family application processors, ROHM offers power management IC solutions for all members of the i.MX 8M series.

i.MX 8M Nano applications processors allow customers to incorporate a voice interface to audio streaming devices at minimal cost. They integrate up to four Arm Cortex-A53 cores operating at up to 1.5GHz along with an Arm Cortex-M7 that operates at up to 750 MHz for low standby power consumption. In addition, support for advanced audio functions and various high-speed interfaces makes the i.MX 8M Nano ideal for a wide range of consumer and industrial applications.

Leveraging ROHM’s expertise in analog power and advanced BCD process, BD71850MWV integrates all power rails required by the processor as well as power supplies for DDR and common system IO. In addition to DC/DC converters with industry-leading efficiency of 95%, the PMIC features programmable power sequencer for flexible power control and management, seamless hardware control interface to i.MX 8M Nano, buffered sleep clock, protection functions, etc. The high level of integration, customisations for i.MX 8M Nano applications processors, and programmability help to shorten development time, to lower system BOM cost and to minimise the solution footprint. This product is a PMIC mounted on the i.MX 8M Nano processor evaluation kit by NXP semiconductors, allowing users to immediately evaluate the operation with the processor.

ROHM will continue to expand its product portfolio to support future members of the i.MX 8M family while offering optimised solutions for different applications and market segments.

BD71850MWV’s power rails are designed to meet the power requirements of i.MX 8M Nano applications processors. The PMIC integrates 6 DC/DC buck converter, six LDOs, 1.8V/3.3V power switch for SDXC cards interface, 32-kHz crystal driver and buffered output clock, extensive monitoring and protection circuits, a programmable sequencer and power state control logic.

The high level of integration allows this PMIC to supply power to memory and system peripherals, reducing system BOM cost and the solution footprint. The 2.7 to 5.5V input voltage range supports a variety of power sources, from single-cell Li-ion battery to USB and wall adapter.

Besides integrating all necessary power functions in a compact 56-pin seven by seven millimetre QFN package, the pin layout is carefully designed to ensure easy connection to NXP’s i.MX 8M Nano applications processor and DDR memory, considerably reducing design effort and risk. The integration of all required components reduces the number of external parts by 42 and mounting area by 42% compared to discrete solutions (assuming Type 3 PCB for single-sided mounting). With two-sided mounting, the board size could be as small as 400mm².

To support many different applications and use cases, BD71850MWV incorporates programmability into the power control sequencer and all power rails. Many operating parameters, such as output voltage, power state transitions, reset behaviour etc, are OTP configurable and/or software programmable.