Results from an industry workshop on silicon integration for power electronics come via a recent report by the Power Supply Manufacturers Association (PSMA). The Workshop Report is the second of two volumes documenting the findings of the PSMA's Silicon Integration Project. The first report, which discussed the various approaches to integrating power-conversion functions, was issued last year.
In volume two, presentations from IC and power IC manufacturers provide overviews of process technologies, their capabilities, and their roadmaps for future development. Presentations by ASIC providers describe their services and tools, while presentations from the semiconductor foundries document their services. It also contains an ASIC user's success story. The report concludes with an "Integration Options and Decision Checklist," which outlines the issues and alternatives facing power-supply designers working on IC development projects.
Two tables in this checklist summarize the workshop findings. One table lists guidelines on the approximate costs of silicon integration. The second outlines the types and number of functions that can be integrated within 1 mm2 of silicon (see the table).
PSMA's workshop brought together power-supply designers with companies that provide ICs, power ICs, ASIC design services, and IC foundry services. Its goal was to determine how a power-supply manufacturer can achieve a higher level of silicon integration within a dc-dc converter.
For details, visit www.psma.com.