Keyword: module power DC-DC Module Power Supply AC-DC power modules digital power
Module Power Supply more mature as a technology products, the current global market growth slowed. However, due to equipment production, procurement of materials to the transfer of mainland China and the Chinese communications equipment manufacturers to promote the international market strategy, China's power supply module in the global market alone is a show that in recent years has maintained double-digit growth over. People in the industry believe that in the next few years can be expected that more than 15% growth rate.
On the other hand, the power module market, the total capacity is limited. It is estimated that on the DC-DC module power supply market, the capacity of the Chinese market in 2 to 3 billion U.S. dollars, both at home and abroad module power competition among manufacturers are also becoming increasingly fierce. In order to meet customer demand for continuous price cuts, leading the company through management optimization to shorten the R & D cycle, production process optimization to improve straight-through rate, close to customers design, improving product technology and other measures to seize the market, and through software and hardware inputs to strengthen the production and testing of automation, strengthen the reliability of the design, electromagnetic compatibility, and lead-free technical support. "Rely on a simple imitation of the small and medium-sized power module manufacturers as customers in terms of reliability, electromagnetic compatibility, such as lead-free requirements getting higher and higher prices under the pressure of getting lower and lower, will not be able to guarantee the needs of big clients , will not have much room for development. "Beijing's new mine can王士民said deputy general manager of research and development.
Lambda power company introduced digital power module block diagram.
At the same time, the power module is also facing competition from semiconductor company, TI, Linear Technology and IR companies have launched their own micro-modular power supply products. For many of the current board space and cooling conditions of constrained systems, such as AdvancedTCA or CompactPCI platform for embedded systems, these micro-modular products, small size and high efficiency are the characteristics of system design engineers concerns. "From the semiconductor company's competitive pressure is not large, the majority of their products following 10A power." Shanghai Sino-British Joint Systems Inc. chief technology officer superscript Qiao said. The王士民that: "the power module on the reliability of the system influenced the production of power modules need to go through multi-channel testing, screening and testing procedures, customers will be power supply design to the way SBC inconvenient special against the reliability of power supply screening, is not easy to detect potential failures. "
Traditional markets, "sweet" is no longer
System manufacturers are facing increasing cost pressures, and this pressure will be partially transferred to the module power supply, power supply module manufacturers are becoming more deeply realized that this kind of pressure. "Now communications companies in order to reduce costs, often a year or half a year on the first tender will be opened, customers increasing price pressure." SynQor manager of Sun China, Hua said. "And on the other hand, despite our one-year open-shelf power module shipments in 1700000-1900000, but compared with the system procurement volume of the device manufacturers, we are suppliers of the upper reaches of the device and no high-volume price advantages . "Sun Hua out of the current communication power module manufacturers facing" embarrassed "the status quo price.
In fact, this issue has become all modules Power common problems, especially the foreign module power companies, the relative a few years ago, the high-margin, communication module power market "sweet" is no longer, and China's domestic manufacturers of modular power supply began to erode those markets.王士民said: "With the power module technology maturity and power module manufacturers at home and abroad mutual penetration, China's domestic power module design difference is getting smaller and smaller, market competition becomes increasingly fierce. Domestic enterprises as a result of local service and price advantages, market share rate increasing. foreign manufacturers, the market was down to low-volume / more varieties of high-end market. "China's domestic power supply module also inevitably be pressure on price competition.王士民said that the new mine to the company the power module product prices in 2005 has dropped by nearly 20 percent, in response to low-end power module the impact of lower prices, they stepped up its highly profitable high-end open multilayer power, High-power high-power density power MCPCB development.
Some companies began to seek new high-margin market space, including the development of a number of market segments (such as military, medical, industrial, etc.) and high value-added products (such as high reliability, high-performance products). "For example, we are beginning to do the medical power supply, these market access threshold high, get higher profits." Hua said Sun. Some companies are also aimed at the local power supply modules in emerging markets, "As the national policy to support local technology development, China's local power supply module in the field of railways and the military have more opportunities."王士民said. Moreover, in addition to traditional communication module power supply market, the value-added IP-based applications and emerging wireless communication technology power modules have also been the concern of some companies, such as video telephony applications, Ethernet-powered devices, WiMAX and so on.
To meet the "three high" requirements of design challenges
Module power demand to the high power density, high efficiency and low-voltage high-current direction. In technology, the current design of the isolation module is mainly single-ended flyback, single-ended forward, positive and negative shock combination of push-pull, bridge transform traditional circuit topology, non-isolated modules BUCK, BOOST, etc.. In order to improve efficiency can combine a variety of soft-switching technology, including passive lossless soft-switching technology, active soft-switching technology, such as ZVS / ZCS resonant, quasi-resonant; constant frequency zero-switching technology; zero-voltage, zero-current converter technology and synchronous rectification technology; In order to improve the output current use of multi-phase transformation. How the combination of optimization of these technologies to achieve high power density and high efficiency is the main module power supply design challenges. To DC-DC power module, the current can achieve 100W 1 / 8 brick power modules, we must further in 1 / 16 brick product to achieve 100W of power to expand the area of product applications, we must further improve its effectiveness. System power modules are usually left with very limited space, some system is a closed cavity, cooling is necessary first of all issues to be considered to improve the power efficiency and reduce heat loss related to the power module and the whole system work reliably.
Semiconductor uModule POL products will be occupying part of the power market.
"Power to choose the switching frequency to be very careful, high switching frequency means that the higher switching losses, while the external component selection, placement and routing to be considered reasonable." Modules for the thermal design power superscript Qiao put forward its own proposals. "Transformer to reduce the structural design optimization to reduce leakage power consumption is critical, while the front-end PFC inductor optimized design can effectively reduce power consumption." Tatsu Meilan Wuxi joint R & D Electronics Co., Ltd. Manager Huang Ting said that in the The company's HWS Series power optimization of the use of similar design. In addition, the transformer core material choice and the miniaturization of components are to be taken into account. The power module manufacturers must also be weighed against the high-performance components and performance advantages brought about by the compromise between the price.
In AC-DC power modules, traditional transform the structure of the exchange by the PFC front-end circuit transform to 380V DC, and then by the DC-DC conversion to the desired voltage, such as 48V. "How to transform the first-order directly from the 48V voltage is a research direction." Huang Ting think. Xinhua Shenglan Tatsu (Densei-Lambda) has at the beginning of this research and development, and has been some success. "Has been the efficiency and power factor is also good, but the response speed, the ripple could be improved, the output to retain a matter of time also need to be resolved." Huang Ting said.
With the RoHS standards implementation date draws near, some recent international leading power module in the introduction of new products, they stressed that their products meet the RoHS standard. And the standard did not have much basis for the domestic power supply module is more challenging for companies that need to process, materials and components procurement to re-examine, at the same time prices, product reliability assurance and validation of new requirements.
Figures out of the laboratory module power soon
In addition, the development of digital power technology are driving the digital power supply module development trends, some of the world's leading power module manufacturers are stepping up of such technology and product development. "For digital power technology, today we consider the following three options: low price, features small, low-cost DC-DC programs; all-digital, full-featured programs; in the current products achieved relatively fast digital product program, with micro-processing Optimal power supply design. "Ting Huang told the Xinhua Shenglan Tatsu for digital power technology development strategy. In fact, for some of the world's leading power companies module, digital power supply has been included in their list of high-end products. SynQor has introduced the use of Microchip company dsPIC digital signal processing chip digital power module products. "The use of DSP realization of the power control module design can be simplified to facilitate product upgrades and modifications, simply by modifying the code can be achieved." SynQor's application engineers said HE Huaiqing him.
The all-digital power module the vast majority remained in the laboratory stage. For the development trend of digital power, the majority of companies hold a positive attitude, but the actual investment has shown a more wait-and-see attitude. Sun Hua said: "The large-scale systems equipment for the introduction of new technology companies more cautious, the current real Design-in and the Design-win some of the companies are small and medium-sized companies." Qiao and S believes that digital technology in the power module's interference and thermal environment, how reliable work remains to be the time to verify.王士民are more concerned that the standard question: "digital power standard is not unified on the power module manufacturers a problem before."
Xinhua Shenglan Tatsu in the field of digital power had surpassed earlier, the company has successfully launched the first digital DC-DC module products, the power supply output voltage can be digitized control, through software settings output voltage and over-voltage detection value, output voltage rise and fall time. "Digital power supply initially will be based on the accuracy of voltage and current requirements of the application of high starting point, such as robotics, factory automation equipment, large LCD and PDP display." Huang Ting said. In fact, this type of application not only for the high performance requirements, its own high prices are not cost-sensitive, digital power modules can be overcome the high cost of the initial problems. Digital module for the power supply, the industry generally believe that is expected in the next 3-5 years will enter volume applications.
Author:蒲文Qing |
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