Dialog Unveils Power Management, Stereo Audio SoC

Staff Reporter -- Electronic News, 7/4/2006

Designed to support the latest generation of application processors in emerging high growth applications such as smartphones, portable multimedia devices (PMP), PDAs and personal navigators, Kirchheim, Germany-based Dialog Semiconductor Plc has launched a new combined power management and audio IC.

The company says its new DA9034 power management and audio controller IC addresses the growing need to merge more functions so that battery life can be prolonged and smaller and thinner handheld solutions can be realized.

The chip integrates over 50 different main functions on chip, includes a full high quality 24-bit hi-fi stereo subsystem, features unique high current rating 1400mA buck converter and includes the first linear regulators to feature Dynamic Voltage Management (DVM).

The DA9034 is a system-on-a-chip to reduce the number of ICs required and reduce PCB area by more than half, the company said.

The company believes it is the most highly integrated power and audio controller to support applications processors in 90nm technologies and below and connects directly to the battery, providing complete control of all power management, battery charging, audio (stereo audio playback, microphone, loudspeaker and handsfree functions), white and general purpose LED drivers, USB interface and many other functions that need to be controlled in a portable multimedia device.

The DA9034 IC supports a range of leading applications processors including the Monahans from Intel and is a complete analog baseband solution which exploits Dialog's expertise in integrating multiple mixed signal functions onto a single chip; alternative solutions require separate discrete power management and audio components.

The chip includes 18 high performance programmable LDO voltage regulators which create stable, low noise supply voltages for all other ICs in the handset, PDA or portable device.

Two high-efficiency DC-DC buck converters which provide high current, low voltage supplies to the processor core and memory support digitally controlled dynamic voltage management (DVM) with programmable voltage and slew rate control. A further boost converter generates a programmable high voltage supply, up to 25V and 1.3A which may then be used to power three individual LED backlighting channels and high power flash or video light LEDs.

A full integrated audio sub-system is one of the key features of the DA9034. This includes a 24-bit hi-fi stereo DAC with programmable sample rates up to 48KHz and automatic sample rate conversion, which make it suitable for playback of multimedia sources such as MP3 and WMA files.

Also included is battery management with a programmable battery charger supporting constant voltage, constant current (up to 1.4A), pulse and trickle charging from either USB or external adapters. The battery management subsystem includes a UART supporting intelligent battery communication, full time supervision with over and undervoltage protection, a battery temperature measurement and a reverse mode to allow powering of accessories from the phone system connector.

The LDOs in the DA9034 feature high power supply rejection ratio (PSRR) of typically 80dB at 217Hz, and very low quiescent current, enabled by Dialog’s patented Smart Mirror technology.

Smart Mirror regulators mirror the output current demand back to the bias generator, which allows the bias to be reduced automatically as demand falls, to enable dynamic quiescent current control - thus providing high PSRR and dynamic performance over a wide range of operating currents, without being constrained by the usual design compromise of being over-biased under all conditions except when under maximum load.

This autonomous adaptive bias control also removes the need for a low power operating mode and hence user intervention to switch to a lower power mode at low current demands. Using this technique at 10mA, Dialog's LDOs offer typically 99 percent current efficiency, consuming less than 15 microamps.

The DA9034 is available now in sample quantities in a 196BGA 8 x 8 x 1 mm package. The high level of integration allows this device to replace a number of ICs halving the PCB area required when compared to alternative solutions, the company concluded.