Enpirion's Newest DC-DC Converter Advances the Company's Leadership Position in Power Management for Solid State Drives (SSD)

Enpirion, the leading innovator of the industry's smallest point-of-load DC-DC converters, announced a new member of its power IC portfolio targeted at solid-state drives (SSDs) as well as industrial embedded applications. The Enpirion EN5339 3 Amp power system-on-a-chip (PowerSoC) integrates the controller, power MOSFETs, compensation network and inductor into one highly compact solution that significantly reduces the traditional engineering analysis and design effort associated with discrete DC-DC converter designs. Its slim profile offers Enpirion's wide base of customers – who offer diverse form factors including SATA, PCIe, mSATA and others – an important new alternative. The EN5339 has already landed more than 20 design wins ahead of its official market release.

Enpirion EN5339, 3 Amp DC DC Converter PowerSoC with integrated inductor (Photo: Business Wire)

“Enpirion's portfolio of PowerSoCs supports our hardware designers in easing the process of bringing to market numerous platforms, form factors and capacities,” said Jonathan Hinkle, memory system architect, Viking Technology, a leader in SSD, DRAM and hybrid technologies for the enterprise storage market. “The EN5339 is a nice addition to Enpirion's lineup and helps streamline our power design efforts by eliminating cumbersome steps and needless iterations.”

The EN5339 fits into a 55 mm² solution area with a 1.1 mm profile – setting the bar for the smallest 3 Amp solution available. Small form-factor SSDs, in particular, require this small area and height. Keeping up with the demands of storage, embedded and industrial applications, the EN5339 enables a 20 percent solution footprint reduction and 40 percent lower profile compared to previous Enpirion 3 Amp products.

“We continue to optimize solution size and cost without compromising the high performance and simplicity of design inherent in all Enpirion's PowerSoCs,” said Charlie Mera, Enpirion's vice president of marketing and applications. “Our devices also offer a dramatic improvement in reliability. Clearly, designers must closely consider availability and reliability, as SSDs hold an enterprise's mission-critical data as well as consumers' key records and precious content.”

The following is a summary of specific challenges in SSD applications that the EN5339 DC-DC converter and the broader Enpirion PowerSoC portfolio meet:

Highest Power Density = Increased Storage Capacity

SSDs have at least three point-of-load voltage rails that consume valuable PCB space. The EN5339's low profile, combined with a solution footprint 75 percent smaller than competitive products, enables the highest-capacity slim SSD drives, densely stacked multi-board SSDs and mounting on the backside of PCBs.

8x Reliability= Higher-Quality End Products

Enpirion PowerSoCs achieve 21,800 years mean time between failure (MTBF). Enpirion high-efficiency devices are truly industrial graded and do not require load de-rating at 85 °C ambient temperature. PowerSoCs are specified, simulated, characterized, validated and manufacturing-tested as a complete power system –which, when coupled with tightly controlled IC manufacturing processes and fewer total components, yields unsurpassed reliability.

Simplified Design Flow = Faster Time to Market, More Projects Commercialized

Enpirion PowerSoCs require fewer design steps with significantly less exposure to design cycle iteration. Fully validated and proven PCB layout and design files are provided, enabling customers nearly 100 percent first-pass reported success.

Total Solution Cost Reduction =Competitive Products, Simplified Supply Chain

In addition to EN5339's competitive cost, Enpirion PowerSoCs require fewer external components (typically 3 to 6). EN5339's low ripple (6 mV) and EMI eliminate the need for external noise filters, while its thermal performance and construction negate the need for heatsinks.

High Efficiency = Reduced Energy Consumption and Extended Battery Life

EN5339 and Enpirion high-efficiency DC-DC converters achieve up to 96 percent efficiency.

Price and Availability

Enpirion's EN5339 device is sampling now, with volume production by December 2011. It is available direct from Enpirion (www.enpirion.com) or through distribution for $1.88 at volumes of 1k units.

About Viking Technology

Viking Technology, a technology division of Sanmina-SCI Corporation (Nasdaq: SANM), leads the storage market in SSD, DRAM and hybrid storage technologies, merging solid state solutions with DRAM technology, with solutions such as SATADIMM™ (an SSD in DIMM form factor) and ArxCis-NV™ (a Non-Volatile DIMM, merging DRAM and Flash). With a breadth of solutions that bridge DRAM and SSD, Viking has the ability to deliver storage solutions ranging from high-performance computing to embedded kiosks. For more information, visit www.vikingtechnology.com.

About Enpirion

Enpirion is the leading innovator in point-of-load DC-DC converters, delivering PowerSoC solutions that integrate a controller, power FETs, compensation and inductor onto the industry's most compact-sized, yet high-performing, power management ICs. Enpirion delivers breakthrough power density, low noise, high performance, reliability, and ease of design and manufacture. Enpirion has nearly 1000 customers worldwide designing demanding enterprise, industrial, telecommunications, storage and embedded applications. For more information about Enpirion, please visit www.enpirion.com.

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