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San
Jose, CA -- September 30, 2003 -- Summit
Microelectronics has released the six-channel
SMM605,
joining the SMM105
and SMM205
single- and dual-channel devices in its family of
precision margining active voltage controllers.
Applications for the device are a wide variety of
electronic systems including computing, server,
networking, communications and other equipment
where highly-reliable operation is required.
Voltage Margining is increasingly being adopted by
world-class suppliers -- to test their systems
during manufacture; to perform later
preventative-maintenance testing; and to
effectively perform initial prototyping. Voltage
margining is the controlled up and down adjustment
of the supply voltages during test to verify the
robustness of a board and to weed out weak boards
before they become field failures. Field failures
in unmargined systems are a real and costly
occurrence; they are of increasing concern as power
supply voltage levels decrease with newer
technologies.
Summit uses proprietary active control (ADOC -
Active DC-DC Output Control) to provide the
accuracy required to correctly margin, typically
+/-0.1% (guaranteed +/-0.2% worst case). Inaccurate
margining causes an uncertainty in the actual
voltage being applied to processors, ASICs, FPGAs
and other PCB circuitry. Other suppliers' devices
with +/-5, 10, even as much as 20% inaccuracy
result in unacceptable, invalid circuit test. Such
voltage margining is not useful and potentially
destructive under such conditions because the
actual voltage under margining can vary so widely
as to render the test without meaning and actually
damage the circuits being tested.
Summit's active control in the SMM105/205/605 is
applicable in ongoing operation as well as during
margin testing. This typically allows +/-0.1%
accuracy (+/-0.2% guaranteed worst-case) in
controlling DC/DC converters or low-dropout voltage
regulators (LDOs) with a trim pin - even for
inaccurate DC/DCs and LDOs (as poor as +/-4%). The
payoff to the user is obtaining the accuracy
demanded by today's processors, ASICs, FPGAs and
other sensitive circuits as their power-supply
voltage levels decrease and allowable inaccuracies
decrease too - while purchasing less expensive
converters.
The accuracy benefits of Summit's margining active
voltage controllers supplement the advantages of
flexible programmability and reprogrammability. The
SMM105/205/605 contain non-volatile permanent
storage that can be accessed and altered over a
standard I2C serial bus. In the margining task,
margin values can be arbitrarily assigned up or
down from 0.35V to the supply rail, and then
conveniently changed later. In ongoing control of
converters or LDOs, the voltage setpoint can be
altered after the hardware design is finalized.
DESIGN SOFTWARE AND PROGRAMMER FOR PROTOTYPE
DEVELOPMENT
To speed user product development using the SMM605
and Summit's other programmable products, Summit
offers customers the SMX3200
programming system.
This is a complete development system that lets
designers easily manipulate the characteristics of
their system. The SMX3200 design kit includes
menu-driven Microsoft Windows® graphical user
interface (GUI) software to automate programming
tasks and also includes the 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 sent 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 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
An evaluation card containing the SMM605 marginer,
support circuitry including six DC/DC converter
"SIPs," and a port for "plug and play" programming
via the SMX3200 dongle interface are available.
PRICING AND AVAILABILITY
Available in volume quantities today, the SMM605 is
packaged in a 48-pin TQFP surfacemount package.
Commercial temperature range pricing is $7.75 in
10,000 unit quantities.
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ABOUT
SUMMIT
Summit Microelectronics supplies semiconductors
that manage power functions in communications,
networking, storage and server systems. With
Summit's programmable analog technology, customers
can achieve carrier-class availability, the highest
standard of reliability available today for
telecommunications, data communications and
Internet applications.
Founded in 1997, Summit is headquartered in San
Jose, California. The Company is ISO 9001
certified.
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