Dc-dc converter evaluation board enables higher power density in networking applications

National Semiconductor Corp. and Silicon Laboratories Inc. announce a new quarter-brick isolated dc-dc converter evaluation board and reference design to help power supply designers get higher power density in networking, communications, and high-end server applications. Featuring National Semiconductor’s LM5035C pulse-width modulation (PWM) controller and Silicon Labs’ Si8420 ISOpro digital isolator, the isolated dc-dc converter evaluation board provides power supply designers with a highly efficient 100 W reference design in a quarter-brick form factor. The evaluation board reduces the time required for product characterization and design adaptation to the customer’s specific requirements.

The reference design demonstrates a viable 36 to 75 V input half-bridge converter for power module or embedded power applications. The design survives input transients up to 100 V as commonly required in communications equipment and protects the power distribution system with hiccup-mode fault protection. National’s LM5035C half-bridge PWM controller delivers power density and performance advantages for small form factor isolated dc-dc converter modules.

The LM5035C has been optimized for use with digital isolators to provide further power density improvements. The controller includes integrated 2A half-bridge gate drivers and SyncFET outputs that control the secondary-side synchronous rectifier MOSFETs through the Si8420 digital isolator. Dead time between the main and synchronous rectifier on/off transitions is adjustable with a single external resistor.

The quarter-brick reference design is available free for download here.
The evaluation board is priced at $135.

For more information, contact National Semiconductor Corp., 3689 Kifer Road, Santa Clara, CA 95051. Phone: (800) 272-9959.