Highly integrated power converter combines efficiency, small footprint
By Margery Conner, Technical Editor -- EDN, April 8, 2009
The tiny, self-contained ENP53F8QI PwrSOC (power supply on chip) from Enpirion provides an ideal power source for electronic systems, especially in space- and power constrained systems, such as USB (universal-serial-bus) wireless data cards. The 1500-mA, synchronous, buck dc/dc converter integrates the control and protection circuitry with gate drive, power MOSFETs, a compensation network, and a power inductor to achieve a power density of 140 mW per mm² within its 3×3×1.1-mm QFN package.
The device requires some passive components, including capacitors and resistors; two of the resistors provide the resistor-divider network that sets the output voltage, which can range from 0.6V to the input voltage minus 0.5V. The 4-MHz switch-mode converter provides as much as 5.5W and achieves as much as 94% efficiency. It sells for $1.36 (10,000).
