New power-management ICs optimized for Skylake core processor architecture

Rohm has released for mass production two system power management integrated circuits (PMICs) which are optimized for low power and will enable fanless designs of space-conscious mobile PC products such as Ultrabooks, 2-in-1 detachables, and tablets built around Intel’s 14nm Skylake processor. The BD99991GW PMIC supports the core power rails required by the Skylake platform and supports Intel’s IMVP8[1] power management interface, while the BD99992GW is designed to provide the additional ten power rails required for the rest of platform (RoP). Compared with discrete solutions, ROHM’s dual-PMIC chipset reduces the number of peripheral components by 18% and mounting area by 33%, contributing to greater space savings and increased system size reduction. Matching the PMICs - which feature industry-leading power efficiency - with ROHM-optimized discrete components can enable further reduction in power consumption, mounting area, and number of external parts, says the company. Commenting, Jun Iida, director of LSI product development, Rohm, said: “We have been shipping the previous generation BD99990GU PMIC for the Broadwell platforms for a couple of years. These new PMICs not only inherit the advantages of the BD99990GU, but also feature design enhancements optimized for Intel’s latest platform (Skylake).The BD99991GW and BD99992GW are offered in a sealed WL-CSP (Wafer Level Chip Scale Package) form factor ideal for Type 4 PCBs that reduce footprint by 44% over our previous IC, allowing for even further systemsize reduction. In addition to the required power functions, other features, such as LED driver, GPIOs, A/D converter, multiple clock generators, and coin battery charger, are built in. This contributes to significantly reduce the customers’ design efforts.”