Vishay increases power density for POL converters

Offered in a 10.6 x 6.5 x 3mm package, the Vishay Siliconix SiC931, SiC951 and SiC967 are the smallest such devices on the market — with the lowest height — and feature wide input voltage ranges from 4.5V to 60V.

Up to 69% smaller than other solutions, the regulator modules released each offer two high-performance MOSFETs, an inductor, and a controller, with only minimal external components needed 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. The regulators’ controllers consume minimum quiescent current, enabling peak efficiencies of up to 97%. In data centres, the telecom infrastructure, and industrial applications, microBRICK regulators help reduce energy 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. In addition, the SiC931 features four programmable switching frequencies at 600kHz, 1MHz, 1.5MHz and 2MHz, while the SiC967 and SiC951 offer adjustable switching ranges from 100kHz to 2MHz and 300kHz to 1.5MHz, 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.

The 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, motor drives, and tools; surveillance systems; consumer electronics; and 5G telecom equipment. For these applications, the SiC951 and SiC967 offer three operating modes: forced continuous conduction, ultrasonic, and power save. The SiC931 provides forced continuous conduction and power-saving modes. In power-saving mode, when the inductor current crosses zero, the control scheme turns off the low-side MOSFET to deploy a diode emulation mode. The switching frequency decreases in proportion to load conditions. There is no minimum switching frequency limitation, allowing for the best possible efficiency at light loads.

The devices’ constant on-time (COT) architecture delivers ultrafast transient response with minimum output capacitance and tight ripple regulation at very light loads. It also enables loop stability regardless of the type of output capacitor used, including low ESR ceramic capacitors. The regulators feature a robust protection feature set for reliable operation, output overvoltage (OVP) and under-voltage protection (UVP), cycle-by-cycle overcurrent protection (OCP), short circuit protection (SCP) with auto-retry, over temperature protection (OTP), and a power good flag.