Simplifying Power Architectures with Integrated Modules and Validated Discrete Components

Design teams often face compressed development time schedules that leave little room for groundup circuit design. With RECOM modular integrated power converter solutions that house the switching controller, transformer and passive components all pre-assembled in a single package, engineers can bypass the complex task of discrete power stage design. Using these ready-made modules, development teams can speed time-to-market while reducing the bill of materials (BOM) to a single line item, which is pre-tested and pre-certified for fast time-to-market (TTM). Ultimately, this consolidation eliminates the logistical burden of managing dozens of individual component suppliers for a single power rail.

And, as requirements become more specialized or cost sensitive along the manufacturing process, engineers can move toward discrete architectures using the same core technology found in the modules. The choice of integration level is based on your application-specific needs. In any case, RECOM provides a scalable path where the underlying power expertise is constant across all form factors.

In this context, the procurement team benefits from a single-vendor relationship that covers both prototyping modules and production-scale ICs. This complete approach means that design knowledge gained during the modular phase directly translates into a discrete implementation, giving designers confidence that the system’s electrical behavior will be predictable during the transition. In that way, RECOM helps product developers achieve lower costs associated with discrete designs without sacrificing the performance they’ve achieved via modules.

Every component in the RECOM ecosystem adheres to strict reliability standards, regardless of form factor. For example, RECOM offers the same high-performance topologies, such as isolated or non-isolated architectures, in both modular and discrete formats. With architectural continuity between modular and discrete designs, engineers know their power stage will behave predictably, even when they need to change the board layout.

As part of this, RECOM mitigates the typical risks of discrete design by providing pre-validated sets of ICs and matching transformers. They specifically engineered these to operate together, eliminating the risk that usually accompanies sourcing disparate parts from different vendors. As such, validated component sets deliver modular-level certainty while providing the layout flexibility of individual components, allowing designers to distribute components around their PCB without sacrificing the validation standards they expect from a finished module.

In a similar vein, engineers can leverage RECOM’s technical expertise and support to skip the tedious trial-and-error process often required when matching third-party components for a custom supply. Because RECOM has already designed the core components as a pair, product designers don’t have to worry about the hidden parasitic effects that may fail emissions tests.

Furthermore, RECOM offers consistent support for various isolation levels across its portfolio, including functional, basic, and reinforced insulation. With a guarantee of consistent isolation performance across form factors, engineers can choose the most efficient form factor for their mechanical requirements without worrying about isolation performance. With RECOM doing the heavy lifting for them, designers can instead focus on more important system-level improvements and design considerations.

For reliable, long-term operation, RECOM prioritizes system robustness by integrating over-current and over-temperature shutdowns across its entire driver portfolio, regardless of the package type. For applications with lower power requirements ranging from 1 to 2W, the RVP001, RVP003(S), and RVP005 provide sophisticated full-bridge solutions with input voltages up to 30VDC. A full-bridge topology uses four switches to alternate the polarity of the voltage across the transformer, enabling efficient power transfer in extremely small footprints, such as the 2mm x 2mm x 0.75mm DFN package.

As in the push-pull topology, full-bridge switches also require a dead-time between switching cycles, but for a different reason: to ensure that both totem-pole transistors cannot be active at the same time (a phenomenon called “shoot-through”). Again, RECOM’s unique adaptive dead-time switching ensures reliable switching under all operating conditions, as shown in Figure 2. And, to address more demanding power requirements, RECOM offers the RVPW series, which supports wide-input flyback architectures capable of supplying up to 30W of regulated power.

Complementing these drivers is the RVS and RVSY series of smart rectifiers, which introduces sophisticated tools designed to improve upon the efficiency of standard diodes. While traditional designs rely on passive diodes that suffer from a fixed forward voltage drop, these smart rectifiers utilize active MOSFET switching. This active approach drastically reduces both voltage drops and power losses by a factor of 40.

A highlight of this series is RVSY018, a self-powered synchronous rectifier controller that harvests its operating energy from a single rail in the circuit, eliminating the need for additional bias supplies and allowing operation over a wide range of output voltages and currents. The power IC combines sophisticated blanking and threshold programming with ultra-fast turn on switching times of 10ns for safe switching with CCM, DCM or flyback waveforms. By reducing the peripheral circuitry, this synchronous rectification controller simplifies the BOM and empowers designers to pursue more streamlined, cost-effective layouts. Ultimately, combining these intelligent solutions with active rectification allows engineers to maintain peak efficiency throughout the entire power conversion chain.

When teams design a power converter, especially without a fully integrated module, they frequently struggle to find the best transformer for their use case. RECOM designed its comprehensive transformer portfolio to be the missing link for engineers moving toward custom PCBs, providing the right magnetics for discrete silicon.

For example, RECOM’s wide array of standard SMD transformers is available with various turn ratios and isolation ratings tuned to match RVP drivers. These off-the-shelf magnetics help designers quickly implement a power stage that reflects the efficiency of RECOM’s proven modules. To assist circuit designers, RECOM also offers a range of Discrete Solution (DS) boards covering the most common input, output and isolation voltages that are premounted on a small PCB for immediate testing and evaluation. These DS boards are available ex-stock.

However, in the broad field of industrial electronics, a one-size-fits-all approach is not always possible. When off-the-shelf DS options do not match the customer’s needs, then RECOM will assemble an evaluation board from the standard driver, transformer, and secondary IC portfolio and deliver a working prototype within 20 working days. Full custom solutions where engineers specify exact requirements, such as non-standard input or output voltage requirements or extended creepage and clearance distances that they need in their designs to comply with specialized safety standards, can also be delivered quickly, the time taken depending on the complexity of the solution required. For this service, an MOQ of 50kpcs or 50kUSD (whichever is lower) is needed.

The flexibility of this program also applies to the internal architecture of the magnetic component itself. Teams can specify multiple windings or untapped configurations to support complex output rails, allowing a single discrete driver to power multiple isolated sections of a system simultaneously. Because they can customize so much, designers can design the power supply around the application, rather than limiting the application to the power supply design.

Finally, the deep magnetic design expertise used in RECOM’s world-class modules is directly available to customers using these discrete sets. RECOM’s engineers have already done the hard work of validating all interactions between the silicon and the ferrite core. All these initiatives by RECOM make the discrete power stage as robust as its modular counterpart.

The choice between push-pull and full-bridge topologies often depends on the system’s specific voltage-to-current ratio and the desired complexity of the magnetic components. Each choice offers advantages that help engineers match the power stage for either low-voltage, high-current throughput or higher-voltage rail stability. By choosing the correct path early in the design phase, designers can avoid costly layout revisions later.

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