TXN: TI Stackable Controller Maximizes Power Density And Energy Performance In Data Centers And Telecom Systems

Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NYSE: TXN) introduced today a highly flexible, power management integrated circuit (IC) that turns power supplies in data centers and telecommunications equipment into fully scalable, stackable power systems with greater load-handling capability and maximum efficiency.

TI's TPS40140 synchronous, pulse-width modulation (PWM) controller operates as a stand-alone device that generates two outputs, or as a two-channel, multi-phase controller. Using the device's advanced capabilities, designers are now able to "stack" multiple devices together to create a high-density power supply that can generate up to 320 A of output current and support up to 16 phases. In addition, the system can maintain greater power efficiency with today's power stage components.


Increased Power Efficiency for High-Density Applications

"Power supply designers for high-performance data center and 3G base station applications face challenging requirements for higher power density, scalability, and high-efficiency operation," said Stephen Anderson, vice president of TI's system power management business. "TI's new stackable controllers will enable customers to meet those demands in an easy-to-use, modular approach."


In applications such as high-density telecom and wireless systems, the TPS40140 significantly increases load-handling capability and simplifies power system design. For 3G base stations driven by 1-GHz digital signal processors (DSPs) like TI's new TMS320TCI6482, the TPS40140 offers greater energy performance, low noise and low power. For data center servers, the controller gives designers the opportunity to more easily develop a complete multi-phase power system with high efficiency operation.


Power Supply Flexibility and Performance

The unique stacking capability of the TPS40140 enables the power supply to perform automatic phase-balancing, which significantly minimizes the ripple current in both the output and input capacitors and allows an overall smaller solution size. Designers can also implement topologies where multiple output rails based on multi-phase and/or single-phase output topologies are both synchronized and phase-balanced to achieve greater levels of power density and flexibility while maintaining a uniform electromagnetic interference (EMI) spectrum of frequencies.



The TPS40140 current-mode controller supports a wide input voltage conversion range of 2-V to 40-V, enabling high-performance operation from a 4.5-V to 15-V power source. The device has excellent line and load regulation of 0.1 percent, supported by a high-precision +/-0.5 percent, 0.7-V voltage reference and high-accuracy differential load sense amplifier.

The TPS40140 is equipped with complete supervisory and control features for today's power supplies, including pre-bias start-up capability, programmable under-voltage lockout, lossless direct current resistance or resistor current sensing, independent power good indicators, separate soft start controls, synchronization input, programmable over-current protection and thermal shutdown. In addition, the TPS40140 controller supports three common sequencing schemes, including sequential sequencing, ratio-metric sequencing and simultaneous sequencing.


Availability, Packaging and Pricing

The TPS40140 controller is available in volume from TI and its authorized distributors. Packaged in a 6 mm x 6 mm, 36-pin QFN, suggested resale pricing is $3.30 each in quantities of 1,000 units. Software development tools for the TPS40140 will be available in the fourth quarter of 2006 through TI's new Pro series of tools. Evaluation modules, application notes, reference designs and TI's Power Management Selection Guide are available at www.ti.com/tps40140-pr



Power Behind Your Designs

TI is focused on meeting the power design needs of customers through innovative products and technical support. TI leverages its analog and digital system expertise and manufacturing capabilities to provide high-performance, discrete and integrated power management solutions to fit any portable, line-powered, isolated or non-isolated power design challenge – from cell phones and PDAs to telecom, industrial and computing applications.