Application Brief

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Application Brief

The Benefits of FlexPower PMIC Devices

Introduction
As industrial and automotive processor power
requirements evolve each year, the demand forsystem adaptability and higher performance is greatlyincreasing. Applications, such as factory automation,building automation, advanced driver assistancesystem (ADAS), and infotainment and cluster require
high-performance power solutions. In addition, next
generation processors require designers to selectoptimized PMICs to meet specific power andsequencing requirements. Often times, theserequirements change throughout the design cycle so it
is important to have a power solution that is flexible
and scalable. TI's portfolio of FlexPower, multiphase
PMICs provide an adaptable and robust solution.
What is FlexPower?
FlexPower PMICs are flexible due to their ability to
combine output buck converters to achieve higher
output currents. Multiple FlexPower PMICs can also
be stacked together to increase power-rail coverage,
as shown in Figure 2. Each multi-phase FlexPowerPMIC contains a pre-configured phase configuration
with varying number of output rails to correspond withgiven voltage and current specifications. The phasesof the LP8756x-Q1 can be combined to generate fivedifferent output combinations as shown in Figure 1.

Output Configuration Options
LP87561

16A

LP87562

12A
4A

LP87563

4A
4A

Since the FlexPower PMICs are smaller (2–4 rail)
PMICs, they can be interfaced and combined withother FlexPower PMICs to expand the power rail
count to the user’s needed specifications, creating a
distributed power solution. By being low rail count
PMICs, FlexPower PMICs easily provide optimizedsolutions due to having no unused regulators.
Multiphase and Distributed Power Advantages
Due to the multi-phase capability of the DC/DC
regulators and the smaller rail count of each device,
FlexPower PMICs enable designers to adapt to theirchanging requirements by combining or separating
various FlexPower PMICs depending on theapplication requirements. This reduces the potential of
having unused regulators, ensuring a cost-optimized
solution, no matter what the power requirements are.
Multiple FlexPower PMICs can be combined to meetthe exact needs of a SoC power requirement, without
the need to implement an external sequencer orexternal fault monitor.
5V input

LP87564

8A

programmed to power application-specific processors,
such as, but not limited to, Jacinto™ processors,
AWR/IWR radar sensors, and SitaraTM processors. In
scenarios where custom application-specific settingsneed to be programmed into one-time programmable(OTP) default memory, contact your TI representative
for more information on this programmability option.

DCDC

LP87565

4A
4A
4A
4A

2.5V @ 1A

8A

2.5V
1.5V @ 0.2A

LP87562

1.5VASIC1.1V @ 12A
DCDC

8A

VCORE 1.1V

LDO

LP8733

1.2V @ 3A

DCDC

Figure 1. Output Configuration Options

MEMORYDCDCLDO

3.3V @ 2A

With the I2C configurable versions of the FlexPowerdevices, output settings can be configured at start-up
via I2C. These devices, such as the LP873x-Q1 andLP8756x-Q1 families, are programmed with output
rails initially disabled and are software configurable
through I2C interface. As a result, customers canselect a phase configuration that best matches
customer requirements, then program the output
voltages, current limits, and power-up and powerdown sequence through the I2C communication at thedevice power using a local MCU. In addition to the I2C
configurable option, TI released versions that are pre-1.4V @ 0.3A

MCU

Figure 2. Distributed Power Example
By providing a distributed power solution, FlexPowerPMICs help distribute thermals on the board.
Traditional PMICs are highly integrated and,
therefore, dissipate the heat of six or more regulatorsin the same package. In this case, the concentrated
thermal dissipation may conflict with neighboring
components, potentially hindering the overall system
performance or capability. FlexPower PMICs resolve

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The Benefits of FlexPower PMIC Devices

1Application Brief

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this issue by being a scalable multi-chip solution
consisting of low-rail count ICs, which better
distributes the thermal dissipation across the board asshown in Figure 2. Moreover, the smaller footprint ofeach individual flexpower PMIC enables more layout
flexibility, allowing designers to collocate the PMIC
next to the point of load.

{ WŒ}PŒ uu ]o]šÇ }(output voltages{ ^u oo Œ ]oo }(ReleaseDevice/PPAP
Available

footprint, and device
count0V, 0A
0V, 0A0V, 0A0V, 0A]o]šÇ

µo Ç}µš Z oo vP • Ç{ ]•šŒ] µš

having discrete scalabilityšZ Œu o•{ > •• o Ç}µš Z oo vP •{ ^u oo Œ ]oo }( materials,
reduced footprint, anddevice countBy providing the scalability of discrete components,and sequencing and monitoring features of atraditional PMIC, FlexPower solutions provide the bestof both architectures as shown in Figure 4. Also, withsoftware-configurable options, FlexPower PMICs
allow reduced design-cycle time and easy
customization of the PMIC, ensuring the PMIC is
optimized for the specific power needs of the project.

DesignVerification

Simple changeof MCU codeµ š} ‰Œ}PŒ uu

Figure 4. Summary of FlexPower Benefits

Design Process
Preliminary
Power Estimate{ K‰š]u]Ì •}oµš]}vwith no un-utilizedrails{ &o Æ] o{Zmaterials, reduced

Discrete Solution{ K‰š]u]Ì (}Œparticular SoCs withno un-utilized rails{ K‰š]u]Ì š]}v (}Œparticular SoCs

During the design process, the user must first select adevice that meets the specific power requirements ofthe system's FPGA or processor; however, the power
requirements may change multiple times before thedesign is finalized. For example, assume the user's
preliminary power estimate is to have four rails withthe following specifications as shown in Figure 3. After
testing and realizing the rails need to be tweaked topower the required processor, the user makes thefollowing changes for the design verification phase, as
shown in Figure 3. These changes can easily bemade with a change to the MCU code.
Device Selection

FlexPower

Traditional PMIC

1.2V, 3A
3.3V, 1A
1.7V, 200mA
3.3V, 250mA

1.1V, 3A
3.3V, 2A
1.8V, 300mA
3.3V, 250mA

Figure 3. I2C Configuration Design Process
Table 1. Device Recommendations

2Device

Vin Range

Number of Power Rails

Max Current
Per Channel

Vout Range

Features

Package

LP8732-Q1

2.8 V–5.5 V

2 DC/DC Multiphase BuckRegulators, 2 LDOs

2A

0.7 V–3.36 V (Buck)
0.8 V–3.3 V (LDO)PGOOD, I2C

5×5-mm QFN

LP8733-Q1

2.8 V–5.5 V

2 DC/DC Multiphase BuckRegulators, 2 LDOs

3A

0.7 V–3.36 V (Buck)
0.8 V–3.3 V (LDO)PGOOD, I2C

5×5-mm QFN

LP8752-Q1

2.8 V-5.5 V

4 DC/DC

4 A, 10 A total

0.6V-3.36 V (Buck)PGOOD, I2C

4×4.5-mm QFN,
HotRodLP8756-Q1

2.8 V–5.5 V

4 DC/DC Multiphase Buck
Regulators

4 A, 16 A total

0.6 V–3.36 V (Buck)PGOOD, I2C

4×4.5-mm QFN,HotRod

LP875701-Q1

2.8 V-5.5 V

1 4-phase Buck Regulator

10 A

1.0 V (Buck)PGOOD, I2C
Improved DC andAC Accuracy

4×4.5-mm QFN,
HotRodLP8770-Q1

2.8 V–5.5 V

2 DC/DC Multiphase BuckRegulators, 1 5 V BoostRegulator

3.5 A

0.7 V–3.36 V (Buck)PGOOD, I2C,
Independent Vref,
Watchdog, andExternal voltage
monitoring

LP8758-E3

2.5 V-5.5 V

4 DC/DC Regulators

4A

0.5 V-3.36 V (Buck)PGOOD, I2C

2.92×2.17-mm
DSBGA

LP8733

2.8 V-5.5 V

2 DC/DC Multiphase BuckRegulators, 2 LDOs

3A

0.7 V-3.36 V (Buck)
0.8 V-3.3 V (LDO)PGOOD, I2C

5×5-mm QFN

The Benefits of FlexPower PMIC Devices

5×5-mm QFNSNVA885B – SEPTEMBER 2020 – REVISED NOVEMBER 2020
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