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SAN
JOSE, CA -- SEPTEMBER 27, 2004 --
Summit Microelectronics has
raised the bar again in
intelligent power management
devices with the introduction of
the SMM766
and SMM764
linkable active POL (point of
load DC/DC power supply)
controllers. They implement
sequencing, margining, and true
differential tracking with a
unique linking feature that
allows up to 30 channels of
operation. The SMM766 is a
sixchannel device, and the SMM764
is a four-channel device. Linking
is simply achieved with a single
pin that ties all of the devices
together for totally coordinated
operation.
Ideal applications for the
devices include storage, server,
networking and communications
equipment where as much as
99.999% up-time is essential.
Users can choose either the
industry-standard I2C bus or the
MicroWire bus standard for
control of an add-in card by the
host system, and for reporting
status from the add-in card to
the host system. The devices are
programmable with on-chip
non-volatile EEPROM memory. The
devices integrate the capability
to control three positive-voltage
feed source supplies and three
downstream on-card DC-DC
converters. (See Figure 1). They
combine highly programmable
hot-swap protection, cascaded
sequencing, precision voltage
margining, precision ongoing
power-supply voltage control and
precision monitoring/reset into a
highly functional single-chip
device.
These products utilize Summit's
award-winning ADOCtm technique
(Analog Zone 2003 Power
Management Product of the Year).
This is a new engineering concept
called Active DC Output Control
that intelligently maintains the
output voltage of DC/DC
converters on the user's board,
dramatically improving voltage
accuracy in system use --
typically to +/-0.1% of voltage
output.
The SMM766 and SMM764 are highly
useful in initial turn-on of the
board during production to
perform "margining." This is the
temporary adjusting of each of
the controlled POL supply
voltages up to +/-10% in any
combination across up to 30
channels of operation-- so that
sensitivity of the system to
power supply changes can be
determined. Margining can be
performed either just on
prototype boards before
production launch, or can be done
board-by-board in production to
test for manufacturing
variations. Summit's precision
makes margining highly useful in
improving system reliability - as
compared to competitor's devices
with as much as +/-10% innacuracy
where such innacuracy negates the
usefulness of margining.
Finally, these devices can be
configured to sequence up to 30
voltage supplies in any order
during both power-up and
power-down transitions. This
sequencing can be set by the user
to cascade each supply as the
prior supply completes its
transition, therefore relieving
the user of the need to calculate
the slew rate of each supply
voltage depending on its loading,
and specifying a safe delay time
before the next supply can be
actuated. This guarantees that
unwanted crossovers will not
occur.
The SMM766 and SMM764 can be
accessed by the popular I2C bus
to exercise complete control of
the board's power
characteristics. This can be done
during production, or each time
that the board is booted up, or
during normal operation "on the
fly" during normal operation.
For more details of the SMM766
and SMM764 and datasheets, please
visit www.summitmicro.com.
DESIGN SOFTWARE AND PROGRAMMER
FOR PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT
To speed user product development
using the SMM766 and SMM764 and
Summit's other programmable
products, Summit offers customers
the SMX3200
programming
system.
This is a complete development
tool that lets designers easily
manipulate the characteristics of
their systems. The SMX3200 design
kit includes menu-driven
Microsoft Windows® graphic
user interface (GUI) software to
automate programming tasks and
also includes all necessary
hardware to interface to the
parallel port of a laptop or
PC.
Once a user completes design and
prototyping, the SMX3200
automatically generates a HEX
data file that can be transmitted
to Summit for review and
approval. Summit then assigns a
unique customer identification
code to the HEX file and programs
the customer's production devices
prior to final electrical test
operations. This ensures that the
device will operate properly in
the end application. The design
kit software can be downloaded
today from Summit's website
(www.summitmicro.com).
DESIGN KIT FOR AUTOMATED
PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT
Evaluation cards containing the
SMM766 or SMM764 controller,
DC/DC converters, all required
associated circuitry, and a port
for "plug and play" programming
via the SMX33200 dongle interface
are available. A three-digit
digital voltmeter is required to
see the voltage accuracy
enhancement provided by these
devices-- typically as low as
+/-0.1% error (guaranteed to +/-
0.2%), compared to the +/-2% or
even +/-4% variation of typical
converter bricks when ADOCtm
control is removed.
PRICING AND
AVAILABILITY
Available in volume quantities
today, the SMM766 and SMM764 come
in a 48-pin TQFP surface-mount
package. Commercial temperature
range pricing is $9.75 and $7.31
respectively in 1,000 unit
quantities. Industrial
temperature range pricing is
$12.95 and $9.60 respectively for
the two products.
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About
Summit Microelectronics,
Inc.
Summit Microelectronics supplies
semiconductors that manage power
functions in
networking/communications,
storage/computing, industrial,
military and consumer products.
Customers can very rapidly tailor
Summit's programmable analog
technology to multiple
applications by programming the
same part.
Founded
in 1997, Summit is headquartered
in San Jose, California. The
Company is ISO 9001
certified.
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