Altera has added the EM1130, a new 30-amp PowerSoC DC-DC step-down converter for FPGAs, to its Enpirion power solutions portfolio.

We spoke to Patrick Wadden, director of worldwide business development at Altera, about the development focus and performance benefits of the EM1130, the first in a family of integrated digital DC-DC step-down converters for Altera's 10th generation FPGAs, including Arria 10 and Stratix 10 FPGA cores and transceiver power rails.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Key Features of EM1130

The EM1130, a new PowerSoC device with adaptive digital control, enables FPGA-based systems to meet extremely stringent performance, power budget, and solution size requirements by delivering the industry's smallest footprint, high levels of output control, and fast transient response.

PMBus, which provides an interface to Altera's SmartVID (SmartVoltage ID) power-saving technology, achieves significant power savings by supplying a lower voltage (VCC) to Arria 10 and Stratix 10 FPGAs while maintaining the performance required for a given device speed grade. This allows the EM1130 to be 50 percent smaller than comparable modules while achieving 3 to 6 percent higher conversion efficiency, resulting in system power savings of more than 1 watt. This translates to annual electricity savings of $15 to $30 per module, which could translate to $3 million in annual power savings for a data center using a significant number of EM1130s, according to Patrick Wadden, director of worldwide business development at Altera.

The PMBus interface also enables telemetry for key parameter measurements, such as current, voltage, and temperature. This improves current and voltage telemetry accuracy by 30 to 50 percent, enhancing the performance of customer systems.

Adaptive control technology reduces the need for external compensation components and provides a robust solution for changing operating conditions through automatic adjustment. Furthermore, an easy-to-use GUI simplifies programming, allowing developers to quickly transition to an optimized solution.

The EM1130 architecture is a building block for implementing more intelligent systems, enabling communication and highly flexible configuration between the FPGA, system power, and other customer applications, accelerating time to market and reducing risk.

The EM1130 provides an integrated power management solution for Altera's high-end products, allowing customers to fully leverage the benefits of tightly integrating power solutions with FPGA platforms. More information about the EM1130 and Altera's entire power solution portfolio can be found at www.altera.com/enpirion.