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Enpirion's Newest DC-DC Converter Advances the Company's Leadership in Power Management for Embedded Computer-on-Modules
I had the pleasure to talk with Mark Cieri, Director of Business Development and Marketing, at Enpirion. Mark has nearly 20 years of management experience at premier technology companies, and he draws on a successful track record of building and expanding businesses and international sales channels. Prior to Enpirion, Mark held marketing executive positions, including Director of Marketing, at leading global semiconductor providers LSI, Agere Systems and Lucent Technologies-Microelectronics. Enpirion is the leading innovator in point-of-load DC-DC converters, delivering PowerSoC solutions that integrate a controller, power FETs, compensation and inductor onto the industry's most compact-sized, yet high-performing, power management ICs. Enpirion delivers breakthrough power density, low noise, high performance, reliability, and ease of design and manufacture. The company has nearly 1000 customers worldwide designing demanding enterprise, industrial, telecommunications, storage and embedded applications.
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Enpirion is the leading innovator of the industry's smallest point-of-load DC-DC converters and has announced a new member of its power IC portfolio targeted at embedded computing as well as solid-state drives (SSDs). The Enpirion EN5339 3 Amp power system-on-a-chip (PowerSoC) integrates the controller, power MOSFETs, compensation network and inductor into one highly compact solution that significantly reduces the traditional engineering analysis and design effort associated with discrete DC-DC converter designs. Its small solution footprint and slim profile offers Enpirion's wide base of customers - who develop diverse form factors such as Ultra COM Express, PC104, Qseven, ATCA Advanced Mezzanine Cards (AMC), Compact PCI and others - an important new alternative. The EN5339 has already landed more than 20 design wins ahead of its official market release. "Enpirion's portfolio of PowerSoCs supports our hardware designers in easing the process of bringing to market numerous platforms, form factors and capacities," said Jonathan Hinkle, memory system architect, Viking Technology, a leader in SSD, DRAM and hybrid technologies for the enterprise storage market. "The EN5339 is a nice addition to Enpirion's lineup and helps streamline our power design efforts by eliminating cumbersome steps and needless iterations."
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The EN5339 fits into a 55 mm2 solution area with a 1.1 mm profile - setting the bar for the smallest 3 Amp solution available. High-density embedded computer-on-modules, in particular, require this small area and often a low profile to enable bottom-side PCB mounting. Keeping up with the demands of embedded, industrial and storage applications, the EN5339 enables a 20 percent solution footprint reduction and 40 percent lower profile compared to previous Enpirion 3 Amp products. Mark explained to me, "We continue to optimize solution size and cost without compromising the high performance and simplicity of design inherent in all Enpirion's PowerSoCs. I was told just last week by a hardware engineering manager at a leading European embedded computer maker that his most difficult design challenge was fitting both the processors and discrete DC-DC converters onto the same card. He was delighted that we could solve his concerns." The following is a summary of specific challenges in many industrial embedded applications that the EN5339 DC-DC converter and the broader Enpirion PowerSoC portfolio meet: Highest Power Density = Increased Compute and Interface Resource Capacity Embedded have at least four point-of-load voltage rails that consume valuable PCB space. The EN5339's low profile, combined with a solution footprint 75 percent smaller than competitive products, enables highest-density computer-on-modules, densely stacked multi-board design and mounting on the backside of PCBs, which is often necessary. Simplified Design Flow = Faster Time to Market, More Projects Commercialized Enpirion PowerSoCs require fewer design steps with significantly less exposure to design cycle iteration. Fully validated and proven PCB layout and design files are provided - enabling customers nearly 100% first-pass reported success.
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Total Solution Cost Reduction =Competitive Products, Simplified Supply Chain In addition to EN5339's competitive cost, Enpirion PowerSoCs require fewer external components (typically 3 to 6). EN5339's low ripple (6 mV) and EMI eliminate the need for external noise filters, while its thermal performance and construction negate the need for heatsinks. High Efficiency = Reduced Energy Consumption The EN5339, like Enpirion's other high-efficiency DC-DC converters, achieves up to 96 percent efficiency. 8x Reliability= Higher-Quality End Products Enpirion PowerSoCs achieve 21,800 years mean time between failure (MTBF). Enpirion high-efficiency devices are truly industrial graded and do not require load de-rating at 85° C ambient temperature. PowerSoCs are specified, simulated, characterized, validated and manufacturing-tested as a complete power system -which, when coupled with tightly controlled IC manufacturing processes and fewer total components, yields unsurpassed reliability. Price and Availability Enpirion's EN5339 device is sampling now, with volume production by December 2011. It is available direct from Enpirion (www.enpirion.com) or through distribution for $1.88 at volumes of 1k units. For more information about Viking Technology, visit www.vikingtechnology.com For more information about Enpirion, please visit www.enpirion.com
