DATASHEET
ISL6398
Advanced Linear EAPP Digital 6-Phase Green PWM Controller for Digital Power
Management with NVM and AUTO Phase Shedding
The ISL6398 is a smart and smallest 6-Phase Green PWM
controller, designed for networking, datacenter, and POL
applications. It includes programmable functions and
telemetries for easy use and system flexibility using SMBus,
PMBus, or I
2
C interface, which is designed to program NVM
banks up to 8 different compensations and system
parameters. This minimizes external components and
significantly reduces design complexity and PCB area, and
simplifies the manufacturing process.
The ISL6398 utilizes Intersil’s proprietary Advanced Linear EAPP
(Enhanced Active Pulse Positioning) Digital control scheme to
achieve the extremely fast linear transient response with fewer
output capacitors and overcomes many hurdles of traditional
digital approach, which uses non-linear, discrete control method
for both voltage loop and current balance loop and runs into beat
frequency oscillation and non-linear response. The ISL6398
accurately monitors the load current via the IMON pin and
reports this information via the READ_IOUT register for power
management. The ISL6398 features auto-phase shedding. In low
power operation, the magnetic core and switching losses are
significantly reduced with lower phase count operation, yielding
high efficiency at light load. When APA is triggered, the dropped
phase(s) are added back to sustain heavy load transient
response and efficiency. It optimizes the efficiency from light to
full load for Greener Environment without sacrificing the transient
performance.
The ISL6398 senses the output current continuously by a
dedicated current sense resistor or the DCR of the output
inductor. The sensed current flows through a digitally
programmable 1% droop resistor for precision load line control.
Current sensing circuits also provide the needed signals for
channel-current balancing, average overcurrent protection and
individual phase current limiting. The TM pin senses an NTC
thermistor’s temperature, which is internally digitized for thermal
monitoring and for integrated thermal compensation of the
current sense elements of the regulator.
The ISL6398 features remote voltage sensing and completely
eliminates any potential difference between remote and local
grounds. This improves regulation and protection accuracy. The
threshold-sensitive enable input is available to accurately
coordinate the start-up of the ISL6398 with other voltage rails.
FN8575
Rev 1.00
Aug 13, 2015
Features
• SMBus/PMBus/I
2
C Compatible
-
-
-
-
Programmable IMAX, TMAX, BOOT, and address
Programmable soft-start rate and DVID rate
Up to 1.5MHz
NVM to store up to 8 Configurations with programmable
frequency, droop, auto, faults (OCP, UVP, CFP), etc.
- No firmware requirement and hassle
Advanced Linear EAPP Digital control scheme (patented)
- Digitally programmable compensation
- Auto phase shedding option for greener environment
- Variable frequency control during load transients to
reduce beat frequency oscillation
- Linear control with evenly distributed PWM pulses for
better phase current balance during load transients
- Voltage feed-forward and ramp adjustable options
- High frequency compensation option
- Active phase adding and dropping for enhanced light load
efficiency
Phase doubler and coupled-inductor compatibility
Differential remote voltage sensing with ±0.5% accuracy
Programmable minimum phase count operation
•
•
•
•
• Programmable slew rate of dynamic VID with dynamic VID
compensation (DVC)
• Support 3-state 5V or 3.3V PWM DrMOS and driver
• Zero current shutdown with ISL6627
• Precision resistor or DCR differential current sensing
- Accurate load-line (Droop) programming and control
- Accurate current monitoring and channel-current
balancing with calibration capability
• True input current sensing for catastrophic failure protection
• Average overcurrent protection and channel current limiting
• High common mode current sense input (VCC-1.5V)
• Open sensing and single point of loop failure protection
• Thermal monitoring and integrated compensation
• 1- to 6-Phase option and up to 2MHz per phase
• Start-up into precharged load
• Pb-free (RoHS Compliant)
• 40 Ld 5x5 Plastic Package
Applications
• High efficiency and high density digital power
• High performance multi-phase POL and network
• Cloud Computing, Router, Data Center and Storage
• General processor power
FN8575 Rev 1.00
Aug 13, 2015
Page 1 of 57
ISL6398
Table of Contents
Ordering Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Driver Recommendation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
ISL6398 Internal Block Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Typical Application: 6-Phase VR with DrMOS and
PMBus/SMBus/I
2
C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Typical Application: 4-Phase VR with DrMOS and
PMBus/SMBus/I
2
C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Typical Application: 6-Phase VR for General Processor
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Typical Application: 12-Phase VR for Over-clocking
Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Absolute Maximum Ratings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Thermal Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Recommended Operating Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Electrical Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Functional Pin Descriptions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Multiphase Power Conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Interleaving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
PWM Modulation Scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
PWM Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
DrMOS and Driver Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Phase Doubler Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Precharged Start-up Capability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Switching Frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Current Sensing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
R
SET
and L/DCR Matching for Coupled inductor . . . . . . . . . . 19
Channel-current Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Voltage Regulation (5mV and 10mV Mode). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Load-line Regulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Dynamic VID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Operation Initialization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Enable and Disable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Soft-start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Current Sense Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Fault Monitoring and Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
VR_Ready Signal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Overvoltage Protection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Undervoltage Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Overcurrent Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Thermal Monitoring (VR_HOT#) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Temperature Compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Integrated Temperature Compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Design Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Dynamic VID Compensation (DVC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Programmable Compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Catastrophic Fault Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Input Current Sensing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Auto-phase Shedding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Resistor Reader (Patented) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Memory Banks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
SMBus, PMBus and I
2
C Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
General Design Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Power Stages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Current Sensing Resistor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Load-line Regulation Resistor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Output Filter Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Switching Frequency Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Input Capacitor Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
49
49
50
51
51
52
52
Layout and Design Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Pin Noise Sensitivity, Design and Layout Consideration . . . 53
Component Placement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Powering Up And Open-Loop Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Voltage Regulator (VR) Design Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Revision History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
About Intersil. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Package Outline Drawing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
FN8575 Rev 1.00
Aug 13, 2015
Page 2 of 57
ISL6398
Ordering Information
PART NUMBER
(Notes 1, 2, 3)
ISL6398HRTZ
ISL6398IRTZ
ISL6398EVAL1Z
NOTES:
1. Add “-T*” suffix for tape and reel. Please refer to
TB347
for details on reel specifications
2. These Intersil Pb-free plastic packaged products employ special Pb-free material sets, molding compounds/die attach materials, and 100% matte
tin plate plus anneal (e3 termination finish, which is RoHS compliant and compatible with both SnPb and Pb-free soldering operations). Intersil
Pb-free products are MSL classified at Pb-free peak reflow temperatures that meet or exceed the Pb-free requirements of IPC/JEDEC J STD-020.
3. For Moisture Sensitivity Level (MSL), please see product information page for
ISL6398.
For more information on MSL please see techbrief
TB363.
PART
MARKING
ISL6398 HRTZ
ISL6398 IRTZ
TEMP. RANGE
(°C)
-10 to +100
-40 to +85
PACKAGE
(Pb-Free)
40 Ld 5x5 TQFN
40 Ld 5x5 TQFN
PKG.
DWG. #
L40.5x5
L40.5x5
120A 3-Phase Evaluation Board with On Board Transient
Pin Configuration
ISL6398
(40 LD 5X5 TQFN)
TOP VIEW
ISEN3+
ISEN1+
ISEN4+
ISEN2+
ISEN5+
32
ISEN3-
ISEN1-
ISEN4-
ISEN2-
40
ISEN6-
ISEN6+
ISENIN-
ISENIN+
EN_PWR_CFP
RGND
VSEN
VSEN_OVP
VRSEL_ADDR
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
39
38
37
36
35
34
33
ISEN5-
31
30 PWM6
29 PWM3
28 PWM1
27 PWM4
26 PWM2
25 PWM5
24 VCC
23 RSET
22 AUTO
21 TM_EN_OTP
20
BUF_COMP
GND
NVM_BANK_BT 10
11
VR_RDY
12
IMON
13
GND
14
GND
15
GND
16
VR_HOT#
17
SM_PM_I2DATA
18
SM_PMALERT#
19
SM_PM_I2CLK
FN8575 Rev 1.00
Aug 13, 2015
Page 3 of 57
ISL6398
Driver Recommendation
DRIVER
ISL6627
ISL6596
ISL6610
ISL6610A
ISL6611A
ISL6617
ISL99140
QUIESCENT
CURRENT (mA)
1.0
0.19
0.24
1.25
5.0
0.47
GATE DRIVE
(V)
5V
5V
5V
5V
N/A
5V
# OF
DRIVERS
Single
Single
Dual
Dual
N/A
Single
DIODE EMULATION
(DE)
Yes
No
No
No
No
Yes
COMMENTS
For dropped phases or all channels with Diode Emulation
(DE) for low stress shutdown or phase dropping.
For dropped phases or all channels without DE.
For dropped phases or all channels without DE.
Phase Doubler with Integrated Drivers, up to 12-Phase. For
all channels with DE Disabled.
PWM Doubler for DrMOS, up to 12- or 24-Phase. For all
channels with DE Disabled.
DrMOS with 40A current capability. ISL99140’s diode
emulation is not compatible with ISL6398. Both DrMOS and
ISL6398 should disable their diode emulation operation.
NOTE: Intersil 5V and 12V drivers are mostly pin-to-pin compatible and allow for dual footprint layout implementation to optimize MOSFET selection and
efficiency. The 5V Drivers are more suitable for high frequency and high power density applications.
FN8575 Rev 1.00
Aug 13, 2015
Page 4 of 57
ISL6398
ISL6398 Internal Block Diagram
RSET
ISEN1+
ISEN1-
ISEN2+
ISEN2-
ISEN3+
ISEN3-
ISEN4+
ISEN4-
ISEN5+
ISEN5-
ISEN6+
ISEN6-
HIGH SPEED AND
HIGH FREQUENCY
BALANCE
TEMPERATURE
COMPENSATION
PWM1
LINEAR CONTROL
EAPP PWM
MODULATOR
PWM
DRIVERS
DIGITAL
COMPENSATION:
DROOP, DVID,
PSICOMP, AUTO,
THERMAL COMP
PWM2
PWM3
PWM4
PWM5
PWM6
CHANNEL
CURRENT
SENSE
AVERAGE
OVERCURRENT AND
CYCLE-BY-CYCLE
CURRENT LIMITING
PROTECTION
RGND
VSEN
VSEN_OVP
OUTPUT VOLTAGE
SENSE
FEEDFORWARD
CLOCK AND RAMP
CONTROL
ISENIN+
ISENIN-
DAC (VID AND OFFSET)
AND SOFT-START
PROTECTION
REAL-TIME AND
HIGH-SPEED
FAULT LOGIC
VR_RDY
VR_HOT#
INPUT I/V
SENSE
STATE MACHINE
TM_EN_OTP
TEMP SENSE
VCC
EN_PWR_CFP
SM_PM_I2CLK
SM_PM_ALERT#
SM_PM_I2DATA
POWER-ON
RESET (POR)
INTERFACES
CONTROL, MONITOR
REGISTERS, TELEMETRY
AND CALIBRATION
AUTO PHASE
CONTROL
IMON
AUTO
PMBus
NVM
ADC
CORE/MEMORY
ADDRESS AND
NVM
BANKS CONTROL
VRSEL_ADDR
NVM_BANKS_BT
FN8575 Rev 1.00
Aug 13, 2015
Page 5 of 57