TI maximizes digital TV energy efficiency and minimizes system cost in time for 2009 rollover

Two devices help improve efficiency and reduce energy consumption

DALLAS.- With the February 2009 transition from analog to digital TVs, consumer demand on energy resources is increasing. Two power management chips from Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NYSE:TXN), a dual-phase power factor correction (PFC) controller with Natural InterleavingTM technology and a new SWIFTTM DC/DC power management converter, will help increase energy efficiency and reduce system size and cost in Digital TVs. See: www.ti.com/ucc28060-pr and www.ti.com/tps54331-pr.

Digital liquid crystal display (LCD) TVs require 35 percent more power to operate than older cathode ray tube (CRT) TVs. Combining the LCD TVs higher power requirements with LCD TV market growth will multiply the demand for power. According to iSuppli the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of LCD TVs, the fastest growing segment of Digital TVs, is 71.3 percent from 2002-2011 with 22.1 percent of that number comprising the years 2007-2011.

“TI strives to help our customers reduce energy consumption,” said Ted Thomas, power supply manager for Texas Instruments. “TI is creating solutions that help our customers save power through the whole design, from plug to point-of-load.”

Based on its previously announced UCC28060 PFC controller, TI’s new UCC28061 controller helps facilitate the thinnest LCD TVs by incorporating smaller electromagnetic interference (EMI) filters, smaller or fewer output capacitors and smaller boost inductor volume to result in thinner power supply designs. The dual-phase transition-mode operation helps lower overall system costs, and is simpler to design than previously used continuous conduction mode controllers.

The device has phase management and burst mode features, which provide excellent efficiency at various power levels, including standby mode. This efficiency makes the UCC28061 suitable to meet ENERGY STAR® and 80 Plus efficiency standards. In addition, the dual power stage architecture makes thermal management easier by spreading the heat through more components.

The TPS54331 SWIFT DC/DC converter reduces the power consumption of LCD TV point-of-load circuit board designs. The device’s light-load increases energy efficiency by more than 25 percent compared to conventional DC/DC converters due to a novel Eco-modeTM switching technique, 110-uA operating current and low 1-uA shutdown current. The TPS54331 has a wide input range of 3.5 V to 28 V, an output voltage adjustable down to 0.8 V, and supplies up to 3-A output current, which provides ample power for the digital and analog circuit blocks of an LCD TV.

Extending TI’s portfolio of DTV solutions

These latest power management products broaden TI’s wide range of DSP and analog products for HDTVs, including those designed to address small form factors and cost constraints such as the TAS5705/TAS5706 and the TPA3121D2/TPA3124D2 audio amplifiers. For more information visit www.ti.com/audio.

Pricing and availability

The UCC28061 and TPS54331 are available today from TI and its authorized distributors in 16-pin and 8-pin SOIC packaging, respectively. Suggested resale pricing in 1,000-unit quantities is $1.30 for the UCC28061 and $1.35 for the TPS54331. Evaluation modules of the UCC28061 are available online through www.ti.com/ucc28060evm. Reference designs, evaluation modules and the SwitcherProTM software tool for the TPS54331 are also available online at www.ti.com/tps54331evm.