Configurable PMICs reduce solution size by 40%

Gina Roos, editor-in-chief

Dialog Semiconductor plc launched a new power management family of four new configurable, sub-PMICs that claim best-in-class transient response and in-circuit digital programmability. They are also packaged in a smaller form factor than current market solutions. Dialog’s first family of sub-PMICs reduces solution size by up to 40%. It also cuts the requirements for external components by more than half of competing solutions.

The devices target ARM Cortex based multi-core application processors and high-performance SoCs, FPGAs, and GPUs, which enable developers to fit a 6- to 10-amp (A) power solution into space-constrained products such as smartphones, tablets, notebooks PCs, DSLR cameras, and solid-state drives.

The new family of buck converters, which consists of the DA9217, DA9220,  DA9121, and the DA9122, offers a 4-MHz switching frequency that reduces inductor size and height to allow use of smaller external components. Offering higher efficiency, digital programmability, and configurability, the devices support a single output up to 6 A/10 A or dual outputs up to 3 A/5 A per output, making it well suited for the latest 7-nm based SoCs.

The sub-PMICs can run from a single cell Li-ion battery, 3.3-V or 5-V power supplies. The devices feature an I₂ C interface that delivers dynamic voltage control to optimize power savings and performance. They also provide fault protection features for overvoltage, overcurrent, and thermal shutdown protection.