Milestone-Proposal:First Integrated PWM Controller for Switching Power Supplies: Difference between revisions

From IEEE Milestones Wiki
(Article updated via HTTP request)
(Article updated via HTTP request)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{ProposalEdit|a1=First Integrated PWM Controller for Switching Power Supplies|a2a=Texas Instruments, North Campus, 13532 North Central Expressway, Dallas, TX 75243|a2b=Dallas|a3=1975|a4=This invention is of significant technological importance as it revolutionized the technology of power supply design,  ushering the industry into a conversion from large, heavy, and very inefficient linearly controled designs, to high-frequency switching solutions, a technology known before the advent of the SG1524, but ignored by all but the most sophisticated designers due to the perceived high cost, extreme complexity, and poor reliability – all of which disappeared with the introduction of the SG1524.
{{ProposalEdit|a1=First Integrated PWM Controller for Switching Power Supplies|a2a=Texas Instruments, North Campus, 13532 North Central Expressway, Dallas, TX 75243|a2b=Dallas|a3=1975|a4=This invention is of significant technological importance as it revolutionized the technology of power supply design,  ushering the industry into a conversion from large, heavy, and very inefficient linearly controled designs, to high-frequency switching solutions, a technology known before the advent of the SG1524, but ignored by all but the most sophisticated designers due to the perceived high cost, extreme complexity, and poor reliability – all of which disappeared with the introduction of the SG1524.
With this product, switching power supplies became ubiquitous and pervasive throughout all forms of electronic systems, doing for electronic power supplies what Jack Kilby’s  invention of the integrated circuit did for computing systems.
</p>
|a5=The SG1524 PWM controller IC was unique in its time as the semiconductor industry was then heavily involved in the advancement of digital computing circuits and what analog efforts there were, were largely relegated to operational amplifiers and linear voltage regulators.  At that point, the semiconductor industry was  committed to two separate processes – a gold-doped, high-speed digital process and a slower, more difficult to control analog process that had to be carefully separated from the digital manufacturing line.  Because the control of switching power supplies required both analog and digital functions, the biggest challenge of the time was the combining both functions into one chip to be built with a single process, and the introduction of the SG1524 was one of the first practical examples to prove that this was possible.
With this product, switching power supplies became ubiquitous and pervasive throughout all forms of electronic systems, doing for electronic power supplies what Jack Kilby’s  invention of the integrated circuit did for computing systems.|a5=The SG1524 PWM controller IC was unique in its time as the semiconductor industry was then heavily involved in the advancement of digital computing circuits and what analog efforts there were, were largely relegated to operational amplifiers and linear voltage regulators.  At that point, the semiconductor industry was  committed to two separate processes – a gold-doped, high-speed digital process and a slower, more difficult to control analog process that had to be carefully separated from the digital manufacturing line.  Because the control of switching power supplies required both analog and digital functions, the biggest challenge of the time was the combining both functions into one chip to be built with a single process, and the introduction of the SG1524 was one of the first practical examples to prove that this was possible.
 
</p>
Robert Mammano’s seminal IC design of the SG1524, and the many variations it inspired, tamed the complexity of SMPSs, shrinking their size and making them cost-effective and more reliable in countless applications.
Robert Mammano’s seminal IC design of the SG1524, and the many variations it inspired, tamed the complexity of SMPSs, shrinking their size and making them cost-effective and more reliable in countless applications.|a6=Switching power supplies, also known as switchers or switched-mode power supplies [SMPSs], were being built using discrete components at least as far back as the 1950s. And by the early 1970s, some of the individual analog and digital functions needed to perform PWM—the control technique commonly used to regulate the output of the switching power supply—were becoming available as separate individual ICs.  But as stated above, the challenge of incorporating these functions onto a single chip led to the need for circuit innovation and invention for almost each functional block.  New circuit designs that had to be invented included:
|a6=|a7=|a8=No|a9=|a10=|a11=No|a12=|a13name=|a13section=|a13position=|a13email=|a14name=|a14ou=|a14position=|a14email=|a15Aname=|a15Aemail=|a15Aname2=|a15Aemail2=|a15Bname=|a15Bemail=|a15Bname2=|a15Bemail2=|a15Cname=|a15Ctitle=|a15Corg=|a15Caddress=|a15Cphone=|a15Cemail=}}
1. An accurate timing clock that could be free running or externally synchronized
2. An anti-saturation circuit that allowed faster switching in a non-digital process
3. An under voltage lockout circuit to allow analog control of digital thresholds
4. A latching comparator for stable PWM insensitive to switching noise
5. A new temperature compensated voltage reference device
6. And the combining of these functions into a single circuit requiring only 16 package pins.
There was also the internal political obstacle of obtaining the needed company product development resources for a product for which there was no demonstratable market potential.  But with this product, switching power supplies became ubiquitous and pervasive throughout all forms of electronic systems.  The SG1524 led to a plethora of follow-on product designs, many of them also pioneered by Mammano and the design team that he headed.  In addition, the SG1524 was also duplicated by many other semiconductor companies, becoming one of the most widely copied designs in semiconductor history.  The current power management industry has reached $20 billion annually and has been growing at a pace of 20-30% a year. The use of PWM controllers are intertwined with the modern electronics industry, and have enabled  a wide range of products, including applications in:
• All types of power supplies for electronic equipment
• Digital computing and data processing hardware
• Radio, television, and other consumer entertainment products
• Electronic controls for military and aerospace applications
• Modern-day automotive systems and accessories
• Telecommunications equipment
• Medical electronics
• High efficiency controls for alternate energy sources
|a7=The milestone plaque would be installed outside the SC Building that has other TI landmarks installed. The outside location is chosen so that anyone at the building can easily see the milestone and its significance.|a8=Yes|a9=The building is one of many at TI’s North Campus in Dallas, Texas, which is guarded electronically and by booths staffed with security personnel.  The public can enter the campus after showing personal identification.|a10=Texas Instruments Incorporated|a11=Yes|a12=IEEE Dallas Section|a13name=Larry Zhang|a13section=Dallas|a13position=Vice Chair|a13email=l-zhang1@ti.com|a14name=Larry Zhang|a14ou=IEEE Dallas Section|a14position=Vice Chair|a14email=l-zhang1@ti.com|a15Aname=Larry Zhang|a15Aemail=l-zhang1@ti.com|a15Aname2=Bob Shapiro|a15Aemail2=bobs75093@yahoo.com|a15Bname=Larry Zhang|a15Bemail=l-zhang1@ti.com|a15Bname2=|a15Bemail2=|a15Cname=Gene Frantz|a15Ctitle=TI Principle Fellow and IEEE Fellow|a15Corg=Texas Instruments|a15Caddress=12500 TI Blvd, Dallas, TX |a15Cphone=214 480 6480|a15Cemail=genf@ti.com}}

Revision as of 13:26, 11 June 2009