Altera EM1130 integrated digital DC-DC converter

Altera is adding a 30 A PowerSoC DC-DC step-down converter to its portfolio of Enpirion power solutions for FPGAs. The EM1130 is an integrated digital DC-DC step-down converter that will provide power management for Altera’s Generation 10 FPGAs.

The fully integrated, 30 A synchronous DC-DC step-down converter features a digital controller, gate drivers, synchronous MOSFET switches and a high-performance inductor. It offers a dense footprint, high output regulation and fast transient response.

PMBus provides the interface for Altera SmartVID technology, which allows the converter to provide the Arria 10 and Stratix 10 FPGAs with a lower voltage while maintaining the performance of the specific device speed grade. Additionally, the interface allows the converter to communicate with the system to provide telemetry.

The product is said to be 50% smaller than other modules in its grade, with a 2-4% efficiency point improvement and a 30-50% improvement in telemetry accuracy. Adaptive control technology reduces external compensation components and adjusts automatically to changing operating conditions. An easy-to-use GUI simplifies programming so design engineers have a fast path to an optimised solution.