64kb power controller cuts server downtime

Texas Instruments has recently expanded its portfolio of analogue and digital power management products. The UCD3138064 is a highly integrated and configurable digital power management controller with 64kB of program Flash memory for AC/DC and isolated DC/DC power supplies. TI's latest power supply allows designers to implement firmware upgrades "on-the-fly" without shutting off the power supply, reducing server downtime compared to existing solutions.

The UCD3138064 employs a unique memory partitioning architecture that gives users the ability to simultaneously write to and execute from different portions of the on-chip memory and dynamically switch execution between the various firmware images using appropriate algorithms. This capability reduces downtime in servers and telecom infrastructure equipment.

Key features and benefits of the UCD3138064:

• 64-kB program Flash memory
can support digital controller sockets in AC/DC power supplies that require greater than 32 kB of memory.
• Multiple system communication options,
such as UART, PMBus, I2C and serial peripheral interface (SPI), easily interface with multiple devices on the system, including peer controllers, power metering ASICs and external EEPROM memory.
• Supports all isolated power supply topologies,
including single-phase, two-phase interleaved or bridgeless power factor correction; phase-shifted full-bridge; resonant LLC; and hard-switching full-bridge. This gives customers the flexibility to use the UCD3138064 in a variety of power designs, regardless of topology.

Samples and production quantities of the UCD3138064 are expected to be available in April. The UCD3138064 is offered in a 64pin, 9mm by 9mm QFN package priced at $4.90. The UCD3138064EVM-166 evaluation module is priced at $49 and is expected to be available through TI's eStore in April.

Further information regarding TI's UCD3138 digital power controller family can be found here.