Author:
Reported by Cliff Keys, Editor-in-Chief, Power Systems Design
Date
09/18/2010
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I had the enormous pleasure to meet with Micrel's Andy Khayat in the centre of the capital city of London, England. Andy has more than 28 years of high-tech and management experience and has been Director of Micrel's Portable Product Group since 2007. He has responsibility for the business unit's strategic marketing, roadmaps, business plans, product definition, pricing, product launch and promotion, as well as technical support for new design in activities. A very busy guy, he gave me an insight into Micrel's stunningly flexible new 4G PMIC.
Micrel is acknowledged as an industry leader in analog, high bandwidth communications and Ethernet IC solutions and has just launched the MIC2829, a highly integrated Power Management Integrated Circuit (PMIC) for 4G wireless applications. The device represents a complete power management solution providing power to processors, multi-standard RF (such as HEDGE/ LTE or WiMAX) transceivers and power amplifiers, memory, USB-PHY, associated I/O interfaces and other system requirements. Forming the power foundation for forthcoming 4G designs, this product has huge potential in the imminent high volume 4G market. Designed for 3G/4G (HEDGE/LTE and WiMAX) USB wireless applications, the MIC2829 is currently available in volume quantities with pricing starting at $2.95 for 10K quantities. Samples can now be ordered on line on Micrel's web site at: http://www.micrel.com/ProductList.do.
Andy explained, "The MIC2829 is a complete 4G wireless system PMIC. This release to the market represents the beginning of a new level of integration for USB and embedded based LTE or WiMAX 4G standard based mobile communication devices. This product is the result of Micrel's focused efforts to revolutionize mainstream wireless PMICs. The MIC2829 integrates all system power and analog functions supporting 4G wireless baseband, RF and digital/analog sub-systems into one IC. It features Micrel's HyperLight Load™ (HLL) DC converters that greatly extend battery life and Micrel's advanced LDO technologies for ultimate system performance." The MIC2829 incorporates six DC/DC buck converters, eleven LDOs and digital level shifters for SIM Card support inside a single, compact package. Five general purpose LDOs provide low dropout, excellent output accuracy of ±3% and only require 40 microamps of ground current for each to operate. The remaining six are high performance Low Noise Regulators (LNRs) and provide high PSRR and low output noise for sensitive RF subsystems. Each LNR requires only 20 microamps of ground current to operate. Four of the six integrated DC/DC buck converters incorporate HyperLight Load™ (HLL) technology. Each of these buck regulators operate at high switching speed in PWM mode (4MHz/2.5MHz) and maintain high efficiency in light load conditions. The high speed PWM operation allows the use of very small inductors and capacitors minimizing board area while the HLL mode enables 87 percent efficiency at 1mA. HyperLight Load™ technology also has unmatched load transient response to support advance portable processor requirements. The remaining two DC/DC buck converters support 100 percent duty cycle operation and can deliver greater than 96 percent efficiency. The MIC2829 is available in both 76-pin 5.5mm x 5.5mm LGA and 85-bump 5.5mm x 5.5mm FBGA packages with an operating junction temperature range from -40 °C to +125 °C. This unique power management solution was made for today's fast developing 4G design and manufacturing industry arena. The company's involved in this business will no-doubt want their own refinements built in to differentiate their offerings to consumers. My knowledge of Micrel's speed and flexibility in refining its products tells me that this part will form the basis for many future 4G designs. I will feature a full article on the unique technical features of this device in a later issue of the magazine. www.micrel.com
