Murata introduced the first in a series of Power Blocks designed to provide the power system architect with an alternative design approach for non- isolated DC-DC conversion. This concept, developed by Murata Power Solutions to meet the growing demand for increased power densities, sits between a discrete point-of-load (PoL) design and that of a complete non-isolated PoL converter module. The power block is essentially a non-isolated buck converter without the PWM controller.
The Power Block design approach allows the power engineer to achieve the highest efficiency and maximum possible power and current density while maintaining a high performance system at a lower cost when compared to a complete module design approach. Murata's Power Block provides a single component solution that incorporates all of the power handling components, fully tested and characterized for thermal and dynamic performance. The Power Block design approach is ideal for today's power-hungry FPGAs, ASICs, computing and IBA architectures. Most analog or digital PWM controllers can be used with the power block; however, the maximum benefits are achieved when coupled with ZMDI's ZSPM1025 single phase digital PWM IC controller family.
The first product using this approach, the OKLP-X/25-W12-C, is a 25 A rated module and is optimized for use with the ZMDI series of digital controllers that incorporate PMBus™ communications.
By combining the ZSPM1025 controller IC and the 25A Murata Power Block engineers can implement a full pre-configured 25A point-of-load solution. This includes a downloadable construction kit with step-by-step instruction and a software wizard, and is an FPGA designer-friendly solution. This implementation supports up to four different output capacitor ranges without any additional design work.
The OKLP power block measures 12.7 x 17.02 x 10.7 mm and has a typical efficiency rating of 93.5%. Input voltage is around a nominal 12 VDC and can accommodate the range of 7 to 13.2 VDC.
