Provides board energy consumption monitoring capability

October 29, 2014 – Linear Technology Korea (CEO Hong Sa-goak, www.linear.com) announced the launch of a 4-channel PMBus digital power system manager (product name: LTC2975) that provides monitoring functions for current, power, and energy monitors from intermediate bus input to POL (point-of-load) converters. Monitoring of board power and energy consumption is the first step in managing and optimizing to reduce low-power server utility and cooling costs.

The LTC2975 conveniently provides energy consumed and recorded in energy units of joules (J) and elapsed time through the PMBus interface, thereby reducing the burden of computation and polling processes on the host. When combining digital measurements of POL output voltage, current, and power, input data enables long-term monitoring of the power conversion efficiency of the power system. The LTC2975 adds comprehensive software-based monitoring and control to power systems on FPGA, ASIC, and DSP boards, accelerating time-to-market, improving system reliability, and optimizing board energy consumption.

Power supply output voltage is trimmed, margined, and monitored when using a best-in-class 16-bit ADC (analog-to-digital converter) with 0.25% TUE (total unadjusted error). Power sequencing, supervision, and EEPROM error logging functions are built-in. The error-triggered EEPROM black box recording function simplifies error analysis while providing insight into future system improvements. Multiple LTC2975 devices are interconnected to sequence and manage four or more rails. Multiple PMBus-compatible commands are provided for flexible programming and data reading of the power system. Register configuration is achieved through the LTpowerPlay™ development environment and supports all Linear Technology digital power system management devices. Once programmed, no essential software coding work is required for automatic operation.

The LTC2975, specified for commercial temperature range 0°C to 70°C and industrial temperature range −40°C to 105°C, is offered in a 64-pin 9mm × 9mm QFN package and is priced at $9.75 per unit based on quantities of 1,000. Device samples and evaluation circuit boards are available through the Linear website or Linear Technology's respective regional offices. For more information, see www.linear.com/product/LTC2975.

Photo caption: 4-channel PMBus power system manager with input energy monitoring capability for comprehensive digital power system management

Product Features: LTC2975
• Digitally manages 4 power supplies
• Power supply that margins or trims power within 0.25% target power supply
• Monitor power supply with ±0.25% TUE
• PMBus compliant commands on I2C/SMBus digital interface
• EEPROM for configuration & black box error logging
• Supported by LTpowerPlay™ GUI
• Power sequencer – supports time-based, cascade, and tracking modes
• Monitor (16-bit ADC):
o Input voltage, current, power & energy
o 4 power supply output voltage, current, power
o Device & 4 external temperatures
• Supervision: Input voltage, power supply voltage & current, external temperature
• Sequencing & error management coordination function for multiple LTC PSM devices
• Operates automatically without additional software
• Programmable watchdog timer
• Powered from 3.3V or 4.5V to 15V
• Operating range −40°C to 105°C
• 64-pin 9mm × 9mm QFN package

USA pricing information presented above is for general budgeting purposes and may vary depending on regional tariffs, taxes, fees, and exchange rates.