Maxim's Digital Power Perfection

Maxim has dramatically entered the digital power market with its patented InTune technology, and certainly has the capability to become the top supplier of digital power solutions. I had the opportunity to talk with Jim Templeton, Maxim's Director of Business Management on his way back from Europe. The new technology uses a ‘predictive rather than reactive' control, which guarantees stability while achieving the highest possible dynamic performance which can outperform the transient response of analog. InTune™ technology is based on ‘state-space' or ‘model-predictive' control rather than proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control used by traditional vendors. InTune performs an automatic compensation routine that is based on measured parameters, which enables the construction of an internal mathematical model of the power supply including the external components. The result is a switching power supply that achieves the highest possible dynamic performance while guaranteeing stability. Furthermore, this information enables several proprietary algorithms that optimize efficiency across a wide range of operating conditions. InTune technology requires up to 5x lower bias current than competing devices, further improving overall efficiency for applications such as networking, telecom, and servers. Jim explained, "Unlike competing technology, InTune is not an iterative tuning technique. It is deterministic and resolves several limitations present in today's digital power solutions, and unlike PID-based solutions, the InTune loop provides seamless small- and large-signal response without the need to cross back and forth between linear and nonlinear modes. This enables loop response up to 10 times faster than competitors and does not require any user-set thresholds. In fact, InTune PWM controllers are even faster than their analog equivalents." In addition to internal R&D efforts, the Company has made a key acquisition of a digital power R&D firm and notable university intellectual property. The Company also recently licensed digital power technology ‘DPT' patents from Power-One, Inc. Using its new technology and acquisitions, Maxim plans to leverage its position as a top supplier of power-management and control ICs to become the number one supplier of digital power solutions. "The digital power market has entered the mainstream adoption stage of customer acceptance," said Ryan Sanderson, Senior Market Research Analyst at IMS Research. "Some OEMs report that they now have more than 40 different power supplies on a single PCB. It is no longer practical to rely solely on analog power techniques for these designs. Digital power simplifies design, reduces components, and provides flexibility. IMS estimates that while the digital power IC market accounts for less than 10% of the total market today, it is growing by an average of 30% per year and will amount to over $900 million by 2016." "Maxim's InTune technology represents the next-generation of digital power," said Wei Tang, Director of R&D at Delta Electronics, Inc. "By providing the best transient response over all operating conditions and enhanced efficiency modes, InTune technology allows us to enable new features, flexibility, and enhanced performance for our power supply customers." Maxim is building a complete family of digital power products to complement its full offering of analog power ICs. The first InTune chips are currently sampling with partner customers; individual product announcements will follow in the coming months. www.powersystemsdeesign.com www.maxim-ic.com