Design
National Semiconductor Introduces New WEBENCH Processor Power Architect at Avnet’s Design Strategies for ARM Systems Design Summit
National Semiconductor Corp. today kicked off the Avnet Design Strategies for ARM Systems Design Summit in Santa Clara with the introduction of its new WEBENCH Processor Power Architect, the industry’s first online design tool to model and optimize power supplies for Atmel Corporation and Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. ARM processors in minutes.
NatiWEBENCH Processor Power Architect incorporates the detailed supply requirements of more than 50 of the newest ARM processors from Atmel and Freescale. Modern power supply systems, including ARM processors, are complex to design, often incorporating multiple unique loads to drive precisely specified voltages. In addition to the required voltages and currents, each load may have specific limitations for ripple, noise filtering, synchronization and separation of supplies, as well as start up definitions (soft start). The power supply designs delivered by WEBENCH incorporate comprehensive power requirements published by the ARM processor manufacturers, giving the designer confidence that their power supplies will meet these constraints while saving critical time in the process.
WEBENCH Processor Power Architect provides the designer with new options to reduce cost and footprint. To accommodate the low currents associated with ARM processor loads, the designer can select from over 50 low drop-out (LDO) regulators in addition to high efficiency switching regulators.