Ericsson DC/DC converters are digitally controlled

Covering isolated-fractional-brick-type devices and non-isolated Point-of-Load (POL) converters, design engineers are able to integrate digital configuration, control and monitoring capabilities into their power-supply designs.

The BMR453 and BMR454 series are quarter-brick and eighth-brick devices respectively, capable of delivering up to 396W (BMR453) and 240W (BMR454) to the load.

The devices operate over an input range of 36-75V and offer an adjustable output voltage of 8.1 to 13.2V for Intermediate Bus Architecture (IBA) applications.

The units have 1,500V DC input-to-output isolation and offer an MTBF in excess of 1.1Mhrs.

The products are able to read and write information to and from the devices using the industry-standard PMBus protocol, which is directly compatible with any two-wire I2C host bus.

Examples of parameters that can be monitored and reported across this bus are input voltage; output voltage; output current; internal junction temperature; switching frequency and duty cycle.

Examples of the parameters that can be controlled via the PMBus include: the output-voltage set point; input-voltage turn on/off levels; remote-control logic levels; margin up/down levels; soft-start power-up levels; over-temperature, over-voltage and over-current set points, and the switching frequency.

In addition to these isolated units, the BMR450 and BMR451 are complimentary non-isolated digital Point of Load Switching Regulators capable of delivering 20 and 40A respectively from a 4.5-14V input-voltage range.

The output voltage is programmable from 0.6 to 5.5V for the 20A device and from 0.6 to 3.6V for the 40A unit.

Through-hole and surface-mount devices are available and package sizes are 25.65 x 12.9 x 8.2mm for the 20A and 30.85 x 20 x 8.2mm for the 40A device.

These digital POL devices are also able to be interrogated for the same detailed information as the isolated devices using the PMBus (I2C) two-wire system.

Using these Ericsson isolated and non-isolated devices together allows the designer to create an IBA using board-mounted power modules, while optimising efficiency levels and operating parameters.

A test board containing sample units is available on loan from Campbell Collins, enabling the engineer to evaluate the units using Ericsson's custom-designed Graphical User Interface.