Switching Power Supply Chips Cut Energy Drain
By John Day, Contributing Editor, Power Electronics Technology
witching power supply chips from
S firms such as Power Integrations Inc.
(San Jose, Calif.), Fairchild Semicon-
ductor International (San Jose, Calif.)
and STMicroelectronics Inc. (Lexing-
ton, Mass.) offer significant reductions in power drain,
especially when products are in standby or no-load
mode. Vendors say such chips are increasingly signifi-
cant because of the proliferation of energy-gulping elec-
tronic devices in homes and businesses.
Power Integrations’ LinkSwitch series of switching
power conversion ICs is intended to replace low-power
linear transformer designs in adapters and battery charg-
ers rated at 3 W and below (see the figure). LinkSwitch,
along with Power Integrations’ TinySwitch-II and
TOPSwitch-GX product families, allows the firm to address
power supplies from 0 W to 250 W, or 90% of all ac-dc
power supplies currently manufactured, according to Rich
Fassler, director of product marketing.
Compared with linear transformer-based power
supply designs, LinkSwitch offers smaller size, lighter
weight, better energy efficiency and superior perfor-
mance, Fassler says. He adds, “The lighter weight can
Power Integrations’ LinkSwitch chips implement switching power supplies that can
replace linear transformer-based power supplies in 3-W adapters and battery
chargers.
Power Electronics Technology May 2004
easily translate to a significant cost saving if, for example,
a transformer manufacturer has to air freight products
to meet delivery schedules.”
LinkSwitch chips combine a power MOSFET, PWM
controller, high-voltage start-up, current limit and ther-
mal shutdown circuitry on a single CMOS chip. With as
few as 14 components, a LinkSwitch chip can implement
a fault-protected, universal-input, constant voltage/con-
stant current (CV/CC) switching power supply that
meets worldwide energy-efficiency standards.
Leveraging technology developed for Power Integra-
tions’ TOPSwitch devices for higher-power applications,
LinkSwitch’s CV/CC design combines the primary
clamp, feedback, IC supply and loop compensation func-
tions, eliminating up to 20 external components typi-
cally found in alternative switcher designs. In all, the
technology can eliminate as many as 50 external com-
ponents, according to Fassler, and can be used without
the opto-coupler typically required on the secondary
side of the transformer.
Power Integrations’ chips provide overload protec-
tion under output short-circuit conditions, and feature
thermal and current limit protection, auto-restart for
short-circuit and open-loop fault protection,
and EcoSmart technology to reduce power sup-
ply energy consumption during standby and
no-load conditions. These features enable en-
gineers to meet all current or proposed gov-
ernment energy guidelines.
“Energy consumption is a growing prob-
lem,” notes Fassler. “Most homes in the United
States have more than a dozen pieces of elec-
tronic equipment plugged into power strips, with
power supplies based on linear transformer de-
signs. It’s estimated that as much as 10% of the
energy we produce is wasted while products sit
in standby or no-load conditions. LinkSwitch
can reduce that energy waste by up to 90%.”
Fairchild’s RS6X1220RT power switch is for
dc-dc forward or flyback power supply appli-
cations as well as for VoIP (voice over Internet
protocol) phones, digital feature phones, in-
dustrial power supplies and telecom central of-
fice and PBX power supplies.
Offered in TO-220F-5L and D2-PAK-5L pack-
52 www.powerelectronics.com
ages, Fairchild’s chip integrates an avalanche-rated other applications. The chip provides an automatic burst
SenseFET (200-V minimum breakdown rating) with a mode under low-load conditions; auxiliary undervoltage
current-mode PWM IC in a design that minimizes the need lockout with hysteresis; a built-in high-voltage start-up
for external components, simplifies designs and lowers current source; and overtemperature, overcurrent and
costs. An integrated 300-kHz oscillator improves efficiency overvoltage protection with autostart. PETech
and allows the use of smaller transformers, according
to Bob Conrad, senior vice president and co-general
manager of Fairchild’s IC group. For more information on this article,
The power switch features overvoltage, overload, CIRCLE 345 on Reader Service Card
cycle-by-cycle current limit and ther-
mal shutdown protection. It has tem-
perature-compensated, precision
current sources for loop compensa-
tion and fault protection circuitry,
and also includes line-undervoltage
detection, remote sleep on/off,
undervoltage lock out, and an opti-
mized blanking and gate turn-on/
turn-off driver.
Conrad says the power switch can
replace discrete MOSFET/controller
or ringing choke converter (RCC)
switching converter solutions, occu-
pying less board space and offering
better reliability.
STMicroelectronics offers two
single-chip off-line flyback con-
verters for ac-dc power conversion,
the VIPer12A and VIP22A. Both
combine PWM circuitry with a ver-
tical power MOSFET. The VIPer12A
is designed for off-line battery
charger applications from 1 W to
10 W (1 W to 5 W for wide range
115-V to 230-V input). Its control
circuit accepts auxiliary supply volt-
ages from 8 V to 40 V. Features in-
clude the ability to start-up from
zero auxiliary voltage using an auto-
matically controlled current source
from the line voltage, burst-mode
operation for light loads and auto-
matic undervoltage lockout with
hysteresis.
The VIP22A features current-
mode control, a fixed 60-KHz
switching frequency and an 8-V to
40-V V DD voltage range. It can
deliver up to 12 W (20 W for the
European line voltage) in off-line
battery charger designs, isolated or
nonisolated standby power supplies
for televisions and video monitors,
and auxiliary switch-mode power
supplies for motor controls and CIRCLE 240 on Reader Service Card or freeproductinfo.net/pet

www.powerelectronics.com 53 Power Electronics Technology May 2004