Intersil Announces New Three-Phase PWM Controller with All-in-One VID for Intel VRM9, VRM10/10.1 and AMD Athlon, Athlon64 and Opteron Applications

Business Wire, Oct 19, 2004

MILPITAS, Calif. -- Intersil Corporation (NASDAQ:ISIL):

-- Reduces CPU Core Regulator Board Area by 81 Percent

-- ISL6566 3-Phase Controller Provides Maximum Performance at Lowest Overall Solution Cost

Intersil Corporation (NASDAQ:ISIL), a world leader in the design and manufacture of high performance analog solutions, today announced the ISL6566, a three-phase PWM control IC, with integrated MOSFET drivers, that provides a precision voltage regulation system that includes programmable VID codes compatible with Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 VRM9 & VRM10/10.1 and AMD Opteron(TM) and AMD Athlon(TM) microprocessors.

The integration of power MOSFET drivers into the controller IC marks a departure from the separate PWM controller and driver configuration of previous multiphase product families. By integrating a number of external parts, in a near-chip-scale 6mm x 6mm Quad-Flat-No-Leads (QFN) package, the ISL6566 reduces BOM cost and PCB area, while providing compliance to the Intel and AMD CPU core specifications.

"The ISL6566 represents Intersil's continuing ability to provide the industry's highest performance-to-price ratio in advanced CPU power solutions," said Cindy Drapcho, vice president of Intersil's Power Management Computing Products. "A number of leading computer OEMs and motherboard ODMs are already ramping high-volume production with the ISL6566 in their systems. This is a testament to Intersil's power management product value, reliability and quality in the computing market."

A unique feature of the ISL6566 is the all-in-one VID inputs. The ISL6566 can accept VID digital inputs from both Intel and AMD CPUs. This greatly simplifies the customers' logistics, as the ISL6566 becomes a single-chip solution on Intel Celeron and P4 processors (5xx, 6xx and Extreme Edition), and AMD Athlon, Athlon64 and Opteron platforms. Intersil's Dynamic-VID(R) technology allows seamless on-the-fly voltage changes utilizing the voltage identification (VID) bus. The offset pin allows accurate voltage offset settings that are independent of VID bus setting.

The ISL6566 also combines use of both DCR and RDS(ON) current sensing. Load line voltage positioning (droop) and over-current protection are accomplished through continuous inductor DCR current sensing, while RDS(ON) current sensing is used for accurate channel-current balance.

Using both methods of current sampling utilizes the best advantages of each technique. A unity gain, differential amplifier is provided for remote voltage sensing, compensating for any potential difference between remote and local grounds. The output voltage can also be positively or negatively offset through the use of a single external resistor. The adjustable switching frequency of up to 1.5MHz/phase enables the system designer to optimize the conduction and switching losses in his/her design.

The ISL6566's 6mm x 6mm QFN package enables good thermal performance as the bottom of the IC is a copper pad that can be directly connected to the PCB ground layer, facilitating easy transfer of heat from the switching regulator to the inner PCB copper layers.

Advanced Protection

Protection features of this controller IC include a set of sophisticated over-voltage, under-voltage, and over-current protection. Over-voltage results in the converter turning the lower MOSFETs ON to clamp the rising output voltage and protect the microprocessor. The over-current protection level is set through a single external resistor. The ISL6566 also includes protection against an open circuit on the remote sensing inputs. Combined, these features provide advanced protection for the microprocessor and power system.

ISL6566 Features

--1, 2 or 3 phase power conversion

--Precision core voltage regulation

--Differential remote voltage sensing for tighter accuracy

--+/-0.5% system accuracy over temperature saves output caps

--Adjustable reference-voltage offset for loadline programming

--Precision channel current sensing

--Uses loss-less RDS(ON) current sampling

--Accurate load line programming

--Uses loss-less inductor DCR current sampling

--Variable gate drive bias: 5 V - 12 V

--Microprocessor voltage identification inputs

--Up to 6-bit DAC

--Selectable between Intel's VRM9, VRM10 or AMD DAC codes

--Dynamic VID technology

--Over-current protection and over-voltage protection

--Digital soft start

--Selectable operation frequency up to 1.5 MHz per phase

ISL6566 Pricing and Availability

The ISL6566 is available now in Pb-free, 6mm X 6 mm QFN packaging. The suggested price in 10,000 unit quantities is $1.75 for each IC. Additional information on these and other high-performance power solutions can be obtained online from Intersil's Power Web site at: http://www.intersil.com/power/

About Intersil

Intersil Corporation is a leader in the design and manufacture of high performance analog semiconductors. The company's products address three of the industry's fastest growing markets - flat panel displays, optical storage (CD and DVD recordable) and power management. Intersil products include power management devices for battery management, hot-swap and hot-plug controllers, linear regulators, supervisory ICs, switching DC-DC regulators and power MOSFET drivers; optical storage laser diode drivers; DSL line drivers; video and high performance operational amplifiers; data converters; interface ICs; analog switches and multiplexers; crosspoint switches; voice-over-IP devices; and ICs for military, space and rad-hard applications. For more information about Intersil or to find out how to become a member of our winning team, visit the company's web site and career page at: http://www.intersil.com