SCIENCE

Micrel has announced that it will be previewing a breakthrough technology for its High Bandwidth product line at Electronica 2010. Micrel will be exhibiting at booth No. 125, Hall A4, Munich Trade Center, Nov. 9-12.

The SM802xxx family represents the first products from Micrel's ClockWorks Flex family, the next generation of high performance programmable Clock Synthesizers. The solutions are aimed at clock and timing ICs for the communication, networking, and storage markets. These devices are configured through fuse-based One Time Programming (OTP) and eliminate the need for lengthy mask spin cycles. Prototypes can be typically supplied to customers within days compared to months using conventional mask optioned technologies, allowing for faster and better optimized clock tree solutions. Offered in 16-pin, 24-pin, 32-pin, and 44-pin QFN package options, the SM802xxx family provides the right-sized solution for customer-defined precision timing requirements, supporting up to 8 differential or 16 single-ended output clocks. The product line augments Micrel's, ClockWorks growing family of high performance clock solutions which features ultra-low jitter Clock Synthesizers. These products are well suited for high-speed wireline and wireless communication applications that possess stringent phase noise requirements. The product line also includes the SM84xxx, part of Micrel's standard line of LVCMOS, LVPECL and LVDS Clock Synthesizers offered in 8-pin, 16-pin, 20-pin and 24-pin TSSOP package options.

Also being featured at the show is the latest in Micrel's line of Analog solutions of Portable and Non-Portable devices as well as innovative Ethernet ICs for the growing European Automotive Ethernet market.

Non-Portable Analog The Micrel MIC26xxx Superswitcher II family is the latest in Micrel's fully integrated power converter solutions. This product line is comprised of three DC-DC buck regulators featuring Micrel's proprietary Hyper Speed Control architecture. The MIC26400, MIC26600 and MIC26950 devices operate with an input supply voltage range from 4.5V to 26V and deliver an output current of 5A, 7A and 12A respectively. The Superswitcher II family has been tailored to be Any Capacitor stable independent of output ESR, thus solving the perennial problem of stability power designers have faced with distributed output capacitance. Coupled with a high level of integration in a small form factor, the Superswitcher II family delivers uncompromising performance, reduces cycle time, size and costs.

The Micrel MIC2176-1/-2/-3 is a family of constant-frequency, synchronous buck controllers featuring a unique digitally modified adaptive ON-time control architecture. The MIC2176 family operates over an input supply range of 4.5V to 75V and can be used to supply up to 15A of output current. The output voltage is adjustable down to 0.8V with a guaranteed accuracy of plus or minus 1%, and the device operates at a constant switching frequency of 100kHz, 200kHz, and 300kHz. Micrel's Hyper Speed Control architecture allows for ultra-fast transient response while reducing the output capacitance and also makes (High V(IN))/(Low V(OUT)) operation possible. The solution is ideal for distributed power systems, networking/telecomm infrastructure and printers, scanners, graphic and video card applications.

The MIC3201/02/03 family is capable of driving up to four, 1A HBLEDs in series at more than 90 percent efficiency with plus or minus 5 percent current accuracy from input voltages of 4.5V to 20V. With its hysteretic control architecture and high-side current sense scheme, the MIC3201 is well positioned to provide constant current with changes in input voltage and output load. The MIC3201 operating frequency is adjustable up to 1MHz to allow flexibility in the design. The MIC3201 features a dedicated PWM dimming pin, an enable pin for very low power shutdown, over temperature protection and UVLO. The MIC3201 has an internal power switch and requires no external compensation. In addition to enhanced power driving capability/reliability, the MIC3201 comes in an exposed pad SOIC-8L package.

Portable Analog The MIC23060 is a highly efficient, Portable power management IC that integrates a high efficiency DC/DC converter with the Company's HyperLight Load technology and a post regulating, low voltage capable LDO. The solution includes a flexible sequencing feature that allows users to configure the device for many of the market's latest processors. Targeted applications include mobile phones, PDAs, digital cameras and DSP power supplies. With handheld and mobile applications clamoring for longer battery life, the need to manage power efficiently continues to be one of the highest design priorities. Micrel's MIC23060 offers very high efficiency and completely flexible sequencing for today's portable devices.

The MIC28xx series is a family of high efficiency White LED (WLED) drivers designed to drive multiple LEDs and greatly extend battery life for portable display backlighting, and keypad backlighting in mobile devices. The MIC2842A architecture provides the highest possible efficiency by eliminating switching losses present in traditional charge pumps or inductive boost circuits. The MIC2843A provides six linear drivers which maintain constant current for up to six WLEDs. With a typical dropout of 40mV at 20mA, the MIC28xx devices allow LEDs to be driven directly from the battery eliminating switching noise and losses present with the use of boost circuitry.

The MIC23153 is the highest output current device in the popular HyperLight Load family of synchronous step-down regulators. The patented architecture implemented in the MIC23153 delivers extremely high efficiency light load for portable products and green home/office appliances. The MIC23153 features internal MOSFETs able to deliver up to 2 Amps output current while consuming just 23 micro Amps of quiescent current inside a tiny 2.5mm x 2.5mm Thin MLF package. As with many other members of the HyperLight Load family of step-down regulators, the MIC23153 achieves up to 93 percent peak efficiency and an impressive 87 percent efficiency under a 1 mil Amp load. In addition, the MIC23153 offers an adjustable soft start to minimize battery transient loading.

The MIC5374/84 series features integrated power on reset (POR), user-defined voltage monitoring capabilities, adjustable POR delay time and manual reset for the ever growing portable consumer market. Micrel's new 200mA Triple LDO family is targeted at battery-powered electronic applications including smart phones, personal navigation devices (PND), portable media players (PMP), digital still cameras (DSC), notebook computers, personal digital assistants (PDA), and handheld instruments. The MIC5374/84 is the full featured version, which also includes an ultra low Iq real time clock LDO, all in a small 2.5mm x 2.5mm Thin MLF(R) package.

Ethernet The KSZ8051/8031 family of ultra low-power, small package single-port 10/100 Physical Layer Transceivers provide the MII or RMII interface to transmit and receive data over standard CAT-5 unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cable or fiber. The solution is based on Micrel's enhanced mixed-signal design which enables power consumption to be reduced by half compared to the prior generation. The devices feature high integration (on-chip termination and integrated regulator), reduced system cost and simplified system design. The ICs also feature higher performance and an extended feature set all in very compact package options. Energy efficiency and compliance to important green standards such as ENERGY STAR are becoming paramount in the digital home making Micrel's new devices a key enabler for the pervasive adoption of IP connectivity in devices such as Digital TVs, Set-Top-Boxes and media players.

The KSZ8873/KSZ8863 series are highly integrated 3-port switch-on-a-chip ICs offering the industry's smallest footprint. They are designed to enable a new generation of low port count, cost-sensitive and power efficient 10/100Mbps switch systems. Lower power consumption, advanced power management schemes and sophisticated QoS features (including IPv6 priority classification) make these solutions ideal for IPTV, IP-STB, Voice-over-IP, media converter, automotive and industrial applications. The adoption of Ethernet connectivity in a broad range of consumer, European-based automotive and industrial applications continues to accelerate. Micrel's new devices, featuring improved QoS capabilities, are highly power efficient, making them ideal for green Ethernet switch systems in these burgeoning markets.