Ericsson has announced an industry first with a new series of Power Interface Modules that save board space for core processing functions and enable system architects to design equipment with energy monitoring features, enabling the use of optimization algorithms to reduce overall board power consumption. The new PIM4800PI series of Power Interface Modules is able to sustain a current of 16.5A across the full telecommunications input voltage range of 36V to 75V, resulting in an output power of 660W to 890W with built-in digital monitoring via the PMBus. In addition, the new modules can provide up to 20A continuous current in systems where there are no input-voltage transients or are very limited.
The first in this new series, the PIM4820BPD is a Power Interface Module that enables monitoring via the industry-standard PMBus and includes a DC/DC power module converter with 2250 VDC isolation and an adjustable output voltage of 0.85V to 7.0V within a power range of 15W/5A. While aimed primarily at high-end equipment applications, the PIM4820BPD allows the optimization of board space and delivers board-level control of power consumption making the product also highly attractive for a broad range of ICT applications overall.
The module delivers all the features being demanded by high-end and high-capacity datacom and telecom equipment, which is fast evolving towards the kilowatt board power level yet also requires advanced monitoring functionalities such as input power or state-of-the-input power stages for energy optimization, preventive maintenance, auto-diagnostic and general monitoring. When combined with centralized-feed input filters, the PIM4820BPD becomes the most advanced solution for a new generation of telecom and datacom ATCA (Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture) based architectures.
The product provides a PMBus-based (Version 2.0) digital interface that enables the user to monitor the input voltages, input current and device temperature. The product can be used with any standard two-wire I2C or SMBus host device. In addition, the module also includes a SALERT line, meaning it is possible to monitor various different parameters and status/fault flags such as over-temperature, over-current, under-voltage, input over-voltage and OR-ing MOSFET status.
Packaged in a quarter-brick form factor, measuring 57.9 x 36.8 x 13.7 mm (2.28 x 1.45 x 0.539 in), the PIM4820BPD leaves ample board real estate for core system components such as microprocessors and FPGAs. Offering an MTBF of 1.2 million hours, the product incorporates all the necessary monitoring functions to assist system architects in meeting emerging energy regulations, in addition to providing a number of sub-components such as the input transient suppression and protection devices and many others features that usually require additional board space. Designed to sustain a permanent current of 16.5A, the product's OR-ing MOSFET and hot-swap stage have been carefully designed to reduce power losses to a minimum, resulting in an efficiency of 99.4% at 60V input.
To assist in the system design process, a development board - called the ROA1285151 - is also available. It offers designers the ability to connect to other Ericsson 3E* development boards that host digitally controlled Advanced Bus Converters (ABCs) and 3E Point-of-Load (POL) converters and create a complete solution prior to implementation into the final application.
As a stand-alone product, the ROA1285151 development board is priced at $560. In OEM quantities, the PIM4820BPD is priced at $77.
* 3E stands for: Enhanced Performance, Energy Management, and End-user Value.
