Power management and CMOS radio frequency (RF) power amplifier Intellectual Property (IP) solutions provider, Vidatronic, has announced a new series of integrated power management unit (PMU) IP cores silicon-proven in the TSMC 40nm process.
The PMU IP cores are optimized for integration into Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) or Systems-on-a-Chip (SoCs), including radio frequency (RF), wireless, and narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) applications.
Semiconductor trends are focused on making devices as compact as possible while delivering even greater performance. Power management is no exception, especially in the IoT era. Previously, power management IC (PMIC) analog blocks were separate from the ASIC or SoC. Current trends are to fully integrate a PMU into the ASIC or SoC in order to minimize size and cost, increase the reliability of the system, and enable overall system optimization.
Vidatronic’s 40 nm integrated PMU IP cores are specifically designed to function together as a single PMU for integration into a larger ASIC or SoC; however, they can also be used separately in other applications.
This series contains a dual-mode low dropout (LDO) voltage regulator equipped with Vidatronic’s patented Power Quencher technology, a buck DC-DC converter, a low-power voltage reference, a high-accuracy bandgap reference, and a dual power switch, all silicon-proven in TSMC 40nm.
Stephen Nolan, Vice President of Sales and Business Development at Vidatronic, stated: “Companies entering the market for IoT and NB-IoT applications have begun to see that in order to remain competitive, they must implement their SoC designs with the highest levels of integration. This involves placing the PMU within their SoC. Designing these power management blocks for integration into these smaller process nodes, like 40 nm, is not without its challenges.
“Attempting to develop these blocks in-house can result in project delays, as well as significant cost and overhead for these IoT companies. Our 40 nm integrated PMU IP series is the perfect solution to get them to market faster, with much lower risk and cost.”
The integrated PMU IP cores operate with ultra-low levels of power consumption without sacrificing other areas of performance. The Power Quencher LDO does not require the external output capacitor that is typically needed in an LDO for loop stability and noise reduction. This saves component count, board space and cost, and improves overall system reliability.
The buck DC/DC converter has optimized clocking options which help to eliminate spurious emissions from beat frequencies and harmonics that would otherwise be present, resulting in much lower overall system noise.
The 40nm integrated PMU series of IP cores is immediately available.
