Intersil Manages Power for Mobile P4s

All the wireless technology in the world is basically worthless if your battery dies on your mobile device. That's why so many companies are working power-saving technologies. What's the point of being hooked up to a wireless network if you're tethered to the wall by a power cord? Intersil is one of the companies working on helping the juice in your battery last longer and just let us know about its new power management solution for future mobile Intel Pentium 4 Processors in notebooks, handheld data terminals, and point-of-sale terminals. Intersil's power solution comprises an ISL6215 multiphase PWM controller operating two or three ISL6205 MOSFET drivers for modular power partitioning. This architecture is said to simplify component placement, regulate channel current, and provide for heat distribution. Intersil's power management setup can be configured in two or three phases. A three-phase configuration provides higher efficiency, better heat management, and a reduction in the number of filter capacitors. The ISL6205 MOSFET driver ICs work with the ISL6215 controller to provide over-voltage, under-voltage and over-current protection. Each ISL6205 IC drives both the high and low side N-channel MOSFETs required in the synchronous-buck converter. High switching frequency allows the use of smaller filter components. Adaptive shoot-through protection provides for circuit optimization. Three-state PWM inputs significantly reduce negative transients on the output voltage when it is being shut down, eliminating the need for an additional Schottky diode to protect the CPU from negative voltages. The ISL6205 handles phase voltages over a range of -5 to +25 V.