Vishay Intertechnology announced new 6 A, 20 A and 25 A microBRICK synchronous buck regulator modules designed to provide greater power density and efficiency for point-of-load (POL) converters.
Offered in a 10.6 x 6.5 x 3 mm package, the Vishay Siliconix SiC931, SiC951 and SiC967 are the smallest devices on the market – with the lowest height – and feature wide input voltage ranges from 4.5 to 60V.
Up to 69% smaller than other solutions, the regulator modules launched today each offer two high-performance MOSFETs, an inductor and a controller, with only minimal external components required for configuration and loop compensation. The devices' compact size dramatically increases power density, while their high level of integration reduces design complexity and time to market.
Regulator controllers draw minimal quiescent current, enabling peak efficiencies of up to 97%. In data centers, telecommunications infrastructure and industrial applications, microBRICK regulators help reduce power consumption by more efficiently delivering power to FPGAs, ASICs and SoC core power supplies.
Highly configurable, the regulators combine their wide input voltage ranges with adjustable output voltages down to 0.3 V. Additionally, the SiC931 features four programmable switching frequencies at 600 kHz, 1 MHz, 1.5 MHz and 2 MHz, while the SiC967 and SiC951 offer adjustable switching ranges from 100 kHz to 2 MHz and 300 kHz to 1.5 MHz, respectively.
All three devices offer an adjustable current limit, while the SiC931 features an adjustable soft start and the PMBus 1.3-compliant SiC951 supports sequential, tracking and simultaneous operation.
Regulator modules provide versatile solutions for a wide range of applications, including POL converters in servers, cloud computing, high performance computing and desktop computers; industrial automation, engine drives and tools; surveillance systems; consumer electronics; and 5G telecommunications equipment. For these applications, the SiC951 and SiC967 offer three modes of operation: forced continuous driving, ultrasonic and energy saving.
The SiC931 provides forced continuous driving and power saving modes. In power saving mode, when the inductor current crosses zero, the control scheme turns off the low-side MOSFET to implement a diode emulation mode. The switching frequency decreases proportionally to the load conditions. There is no minimum switching frequency limitation, allowing the best possible efficiency at light loads.
The devices' constant time (COT) architecture provides ultrafast transient response with minimal output capacitance and tight ripple regulation at very light loads. It also allows for circuit stability regardless of the type of output capacitor used, including low ESR ceramic capacitors. The regulators feature a robust set of protection features for reliable operation, output overvoltage (OVP) and undervoltage (UVP) protection, cycle-to-cycle overcurrent protection (OCP), short circuit protection (SCP) with automatic retry , overtemperature protection (OTP) and a good power flag.
