Product category:
DC/DC Convertors
News Release from: Vicor UK | Subject: VI chip BCMs
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 06 June 2003
Bus convertor modules redefine
distributed power
Vicor has released the first family of products based on its new VI chip ball grid array surface-mount power component.
Vicor has released the first family of products based on its new VI chip ball grid array (BGA) surface-mount (SMD) power component The new family consists of 48 to 12V bus convertor modules (BCMs) for conventional intermediate bus architecture (IBA) applications
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 3 May 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Adapter puts DC/DCs up to 100A on surface mount
Vicor has introduced a novel interconnect scheme.
Modular switcher family extends downwards
Westcor, a division of Vicor, has added two new members to its LoPAC Series of low-profile AC/DC switchers.
The VI chip BCMs provide much higher performance than traditional brick bus convertors, at a fraction of the cost.
The VI chips (VICs) of Vicor's recently launched revolutionary factorised power architecture (FPA) technology, can process up to 200W in a small and light power BGA package.
They are the first product to incorporate an array of revolutionary power-conversion technologies which will supersede the power paradigm based on the DC/DC convertor brick that Vicor pioneered in 1984.
Further reading
Design tool for configurable power supplies
VCAD (Vicor Configurable Automated Design) is a patented automated design tool that gives power designers flexibility and real-time control over the design and manufacture of power solutions.
100A-rated socket puts DC/DC convertors onboard
Vicor has introduced a new series of through-hole sockets for use with pin-compatible Vicor 2nd-generation DC/DC convertor and accessory modules.
Passive solution to harmonic current compliance
Vicor has developed a new solution for compliance with EN harmonic current and EMI standards.
VICs are functional building blocks deployed as SMD components to create a flexible factorised power system.
Conventional IBA applications are supported by narrow-input-range VIC models.
The 200W BCM Model B048K120T20 requires only 21.5 x 32mm of board space, less than one-third the board area of intermediate bus convertors in quarter-brick-style packages.
Available in two mounting styles, it has an above-the-board height of only 4mm (in-board mounting) or 6mm (onboard mounting).
Power density is 50W/cm3 - five times better than quarter-brick bus convertors.
Unlike conventional switching regulator ICs, BCMs do not require external parts to perform their function.
The B048K120T10, rated at 100W, and B048K120T15, rated at 150W, support lower power applications in the same VIC package.
Efficiency exceeds 96% over a wide load range.
The VI chip BGA power component is easily cooled through its junction-to-case and junction-to-BGA thermal paths.
The 100W B048K120T10 requires no discrete heatsink in a typical application with 200 litre/min of 55C air.
The B048L120T20, with its optional integral pin fins, is capable of full load operation at 200W with 300 litre/min of 80C air.
The VI chip BCMs have exceptional speed and transient performance, responding to 100% step load changes in less than 1us.
BCMs reduce or eliminate the need for costly and life-limited tantalum or aluminium electrolytic bypass capacitors required to hold up the output of low frequency, low bandwidth bus converter bricks that are as much as 100 times slower, thus providing further savings in board space and total system cost.
Employing a unique ZCS/ZVS topology with a fixed, multimegahertz switching frequency, VI chip BCMs are relatively free of input and output noise, eliminating costly and bulky input filters.
The VI Chip BCM power component is designed for surface mounting and is compatible with standard reflow soldering processes, as commonly used for 1mm pitch BGA or other contemporary SMD packages, thus avoiding the separate through-hole soldering operation required of classic bricks.
VI chip bus convertor modules are priced as low as 12 cents/W in OEM quantities and will be shipped in JEDEC trays or taped and reeled for automated pick and place.
Pre-assembled evaluation boards are available with a choice of BCM.
• Vicor UK: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Electronicstalk email newsletter
• Electronicstalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
