Being “close to the seat of power” has many advantages—in industry, in politics, and in electronics.

This week, Atlanta-based GE Energy has announced an expansion of its innovative DLynxfamily of point of load (POL) digital DC power converters, ranging in capacity from three amps (A) to 40A. The DLynx portfolio is now available in 3A, 6A, 12A, and 20A Distributed-Power Open Standards Alliance (DOSA) standards-based digital and analog versions, in addition to a 40A module.

The DC-DC POL converters efficiently power circuit board electronics, such as processors, memory, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and other silicon devices.

Photo courtesy of GE Energy

What exactly is a point-of-load (POL) converter? It is a step-down DC-DC converter positioned close to a processor that consumes power. Electronic switch-mode DC to DC converters convert one DC voltage level to another, by storing the input energy temporarily and then releasing that energy to the output at a different voltage.

GE Energy's recent DLynx licensing agreement with Jersey City, New Jersey-based Bel Fuse, Inc.—a manufacturer of electronic components for the computer, networking, and telecommunication industries—further empowers the DOSA digital POL standard with multiple sourcing options. The standards-based DOSA footprints and analog/digital compatibility with existing circuit board designs shrink the size, lower the cost, and improve the performance of DC-DC converter modules.

An industry-standard PMBus interface and space-saving Tunable Loop technology deliver leading current density. With proven tools to simplify design, DLynx modules can be implemented with only three external components. Adaptive voltage scaling (AVS (News - Alert)) leverages silicon performance to reduce power consumption through tight digital control (±0.4 percent) of the output voltage and a ±1 percent controller set point reference.

"We are providing power design engineers the benefits of digital technology cost-effectively, with the safety of full analog compatibility," said Jeff Schnitzer, president of GE Energy's Power Electronics business. "The DLynx portfolio helps our customers optimize energy efficiency, lower cooling requirements, and ensure decades of reliable operation."

Power design engineers can accelerate time to market for new product developments while also achieving supply chain and sourcing objectives. In a flexible nested footprint, a single circuit board layout can accommodate 3A to 40A power requirements in Pico (12.2x12.2mm), Micro (20.3x11.4mm) and Mega (33x13.5mm) formats. The 3A, 6A and 12A DLynx all are available in the Pico format—providing developers with the flexibility to increase or decrease the needed power level throughout the development cycle without requiring board spins. The GE Energy approach of offering multiple power levels in the same footprint eliminates the added component expense and circuit board real estate required to parallel multiple DC-DC converters. Offering double the density of a discrete power design, DLynx POLs meet IPC-9592 performance and reliability requirements.

Digital power provides access to critical load information including current and voltage, enabling the system to monitor the power consumption at the highest possible resolution -- at the processor or other silicon load. As part of the GE Energy Total Efficiency™ architecture, the new DLynx modules deliver optimized current de-rating, efficiency of 96 percent and are priced lower than previous generation analog POLs to accelerate digital power adoption in new product designs.

Combining higher efficiency with advanced thermal management, the new 40A MegaDLynx delivers leading 9A/cm2 power density with full load at 12Vin, 1.2Vo, 70°C ambient without airflow, or 80°C with 200LFM. The 20A MicroDLynx delivers full load at 80°C without airflow or 90°C with 200LFM. Current de-rating reflects cooler component temperatures that improve reliability.

GE Energy delivers over 1 million POL modules a month and demonstrates proven field reliability with a mean time between failures (MTBF) of up to 3 billion hours. Available within 90 days worldwide, the 3A, 6A, 20A and 40A DLynx product line starts at less than $3 per unit for OEM quantities.

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