This document presents design techniques and reference circuits that power Virtex™-4 FXRocketIO™ multi-gigabit transceivers (MGTs) operating at data rates below 3.125 Gb/s.When using multiple transceivers, it is sometimes preferred to power them from a switchingpower supply. However, switching power supplies generate noise that affects transceiver
The LT®1943 is a highly integrated, 4-output regulatordesigned to power large TFT LCD panels. The LT1943employs switching regulators—instead of linear regulators—to minimize power dissipation and accommodate awide input voltage range. The wide input range, 4.5V to22V, allows it to accept a variety of power sources,including the commonly used 5V, 12V and 19V AC adaptors.
Linear Technology offers a variety of devices that simplifyconverting power from a USB cable, but the LTC®3455represents the highest level of functional integration yet. The LTC3455 seamlessly manages power flowbetween an AC adapter, USB cable and Li-ion battery,while complying with USB power standards, all from a4mm × 4mm QFN package. In addtion, two high efficiencysynchronous buck converters generate low voltage railswhich most USB-powered peripherals require. TheLTC3455 also provides power-on reset signals for themicroprocessor, a Hot SwapTM output for poweringmemory cards as well as an uncommitted gain blocksuitable for use as a low-battery comparator or an LDOcontroller. The PCB real estate required for the entire USBpower control circuit and two DC/DC converters is only225mm2.
The LTC®3414 offers a compact and efficient voltage regulatorsolution for point of load conversion in electronicsystems that require low output voltages (down to 0.8V)from a 2.5V to 5V power bus. Internal power MOSFETswitches, with only 67mW on-resistance, allow theLTC3414 to deliver up to 4A of output current with efficiencyas high as 94%. The LTC3414 saves space by operatingwith switching frequencies as high as 4MHz, enabling theuse of tiny inductors and capacitors.
Multiple-voltage electronics systems often requirecomplex supply voltage tracking or sequencing, whichif not met, can result in system faults or even permanentfailures in the fi eld. The design diffi culties in meetingthese requirements are often compounded in distributedpowerarchitectures where point-of-load (POL) DC/DCconverters or linear regulators are scattered across PCboard space, sometimes on different board planes. Theproblem is that power supply circuitry is often the lastcircuitry to be designed into the board, and it must beshoehorned into whatever little board real estate is left.Often, a simple, drop-in, fl exible solution is needed tomeet these requirements.
Easy-to-use and compact point-of-load power suppliesare necessary in systems with widely distributed, highcurrent, low voltage loads. The LTC®3415 provides acompact, simple and versatile solution. It includes a pairof integrated complementary power MOSFETs (32mΩtop and 25mΩ bottom) and requires no external senseresistor. A complete design requires an inductor andinput/output capacitors, and that’s it. The result is a fast,constant frequency, 7A current mode DC/DC switchingregulator.
Low power standby requirements are typically associatedwith battery-powered systems. Automotive systems,for example, commonly require power supplies tomaintain output voltage regulation even under no-loadconditions—while drawing minimal quiescent current topreserve battery life. Rising energy costs, however, haveextended the need for low current standby operation toline-powered systems, such as small plugged-in appliancesfor home and business.
Many complex systems—such as telecom equipment,memory modules, optical systems, networking equipment,servers and base stations—use FPGAs and otherdigital ICs that require multiple voltage rails that muststart up and shut down in a specific order, otherwise theICs can be damaged. The LTC®2924 is a simple andcompact solution to power supply sequencing in a 16-pinSSOP package (see Figures 1 and 2).
Automobile electronic systems place high demands ontoday’s DC/DC converters. They must be able to preciselyregulate an output voltage in the face of wide temperatureand input voltage ranges—including load dump transientsin excess of 60V and cold crank voltage drops to 4V. Theconverter must also be able to minimize battery drain inalways-on systems by maintaining high effi ciency over abroad load current range. Similar demands are made bymany 48V nonisolated telecom applications, 40V FireWireperipherals and battery-powered applications with autoplug adaptors. The LT3437’s best in classperformancemeets all of these requirements in a small thermallyenhanced 3mm × 3mm DFN package.
A number of conventional solutions have been available forthe design of a DC/DC converter where the output voltageis within the input voltage range—a common scenarioin Li-Ion battery-powered applications—but none werevery attractive until now. Conventional topologies, suchas SEPIC or boost followed by buck, have numerousdisadvantages, including low effi ciency, complex magnetics,polarity inversion and/or circuit complexity/cost. TheLTC®3785 buck-boost controller yields a simple, effi cient,low parts-count, single-converter solution that is easyto implement, thus avoiding the drawbacks associatedwith traditional solutions.
