Controller takes charge of board-level supplies

A 2.9 to 15V hot swap controller features an onboard 8bit ADC and I2C compatible interface.

Linear Technology has introduced the LTC4215, a 2.9 to 15V hot swap controller that features an onboard 8bit ADC and I2C compatible interface.

The integrated digital power monitoring allows sophisticated platform management in high-availability systems by measuring card voltages and currents, as well as recording past and present fault conditions.

In such systems, careful monitoring of the health and integrity of the power distribution network is crucial.

Information in the ADC registers can be queried via the I2C bus and then used to determine if a card is actually using its allocated power, or operating abnormally.

An irregular card can be flagged for service even before it fails.

The LTC4215 complements Linear Technology's LTC4260 and LTC4261, positive and negative 48V hot swap controllers that also feature onboard ADCs and I2C interfaces.

The LTC4215 turns the board supply voltage on and off in a controlled manner.

It offers programmable dI/dt soft-start and provides active current limiting that results in a controlled supply ramp.

The inrush current and circuit breaker limits, as well as the undervoltage/overvoltage thresholds are independently adjustable, giving maximum flexibility and accuracy.

The controller disconnects the load if it remains in current limit beyond the time-out delay and can be configured to latch off or auto-retry following the event.

The LTC4215 has additional features to interrupt the host when a fault has occurred, notify when output power is good, detect insertion of a board and turn off the pass transistor if an external supply monitor fails to indicate power good within a timeout period.

Specified over the commercial and industrial temperature ranges, the LTC4215 is available from stock in 16-lead SSOP and 24-lead 4 x 5mm QFN packages.

Pricing begins at $3.75 each in 1000-piece quantities.

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