TI applies digital power management to next-gen Xilinx FPGA designs

BANGALORE, INDIA: Texas Instruments (TI) announced that Xilinx is using TI power management technology to simplify power design in its new Virtex-6 ML605 FPGA evaluation kit.

TI’s Fusion Digital Power controllers give FPGA users advanced power management capability and design flexibility, including the ability to monitor a power system’s behavior in real time.

“As FPGA designs become increasingly sophisticated, there is a growing need for intelligent power management solutions with accurate current monitoring and control,” said Brent Przybus, Director of platform marketing at Xilinx.

“New developments in digital control technology from Texas Instruments give Virtex-6 FPGA customers a high degree of power system optimization, while accelerating design time with the Xilinx Base Platform.”

TI’s UCD9240 integrated power system controller, along with complementary power stage ICs and plug-in modules, intelligently manage today’s high-density, high-performance power systems, such as those used in telecom and datacom infrastructure applications.

The controller supports up to four independent digital control loops and up to eight phases. Two UCD9240 devices manage the power for the Virtex-6 FPGA ML605 evaluation kit. The kit also includes the INA333, the industry’s lowest power zero-drift instrumentation amplifier. Xilinx’s soon to be released Spartan-6 FPGA SP605 kit also includes TI’s digital power products.

Easy-to-use Fusion Digital Power design tool
The evaluation kit features TI’s digital power design tool with an easy-to-use graphical user interface, which helps designers configure key design parameters, optimize control loop design, and meet specific supply voltage sequencing criteria – with no programming required.

The tool contains real-time monitoring, control loop modeling and impedance measuring features that support Virtex-6 FPGA design requirements.

“A major focus for Xilinx’s new generation of products is reducing power consumption without compromising performance,” said Steve Bakota, manager of TI’s digital power business. “Power measurement and control are important features in Xilinx’s new development boards. Customers using our digital power products can take full advantage of advances this technology delivers.”