Silanna Semiconductor‘s Roll Out of AnyPort™ Architecture Will Dramatically Simplify Development of Multi Port Chargers

SILANNA SEMICONDUCTOR, The Power Density Leader, has announced that it will be making its flexible AnyPort™ architecture for multiport chargers available for a wide variety of silicon- and GaN-based designs supporting power levels beyond 100W.  

AnyPort is an innovative new architecture that gives designers the flexibility to complete a charger design for a given power level before specifying and configuring the specific number and type of output ports. By allowing a single base charger design to be deployed across a variety of end products with different output configurations, AnyPort can significantly speed the development and reduce the complexity of fast chargers and adapters with multiple Type-C and/or Type-A [four] output ports.

AnyPort brings together Silanna's CO₂ Smart Power™ families of advanced ACF controllers and high-frequency DC/DC converters to deliver high-power-density, ultra-efficient, multi-port charger solutions for USB-PD applications between 30W and 150W. The ability to specify port count and type at the end of the design process is made possible by combining a fixed-output front-end AC/DC stage powered by Silanna Semiconductor's ACF controller and multiple downstream DC/DC stages independently regulating any number of Type-C and Type-A ports.

AnyPort was first deployed in Silanna Semiconductor's RD-5 all-silicon reference design, a production-ready solution that provides everything an engineer needs to rapidly prototype and tests a fully functional 65W 2C charger. As well as incorporating AnyPort into future silicon- and GaN-based reference designs, the company is now planning to make the AnyPort architecture available to all customers of its advanced AC/DC and DC/DC technologies.

"By allowing designers to start work on a charger design before deciding on the number and type of outputs AnyPort represents a significant step forward in terms of the design flexibility it offers OEM and aftermarket charger and adapter manufacturers," says Hubie Noto, Silanna Semiconductor's director of product marketing. "Basing a design around AnyPort architecture speeds development, minimizes the BoM required across multiple charger models, and allows companies to launch and modify high-efficiency, high-power-density products in the shortest possible timescales."

Silanna's ultra-high-efficiency ACF controllers integrate into an ultra-compact 16-pin SOIC package an adaptive digital PWM controller, ultra-high-voltage (UHV) active clamp FET, active clamp gate driver, and startup regulator and provide the simplicity of a simple flyback controller with all the benefits of an ACF design. This includes recycling the leakage inductance energy of the flyback transformer and limiting the primary FET drain voltage spike during turn-off events. Employing Silanna Semiconductor's OptiModeTM digital control architecture, these controllers adjust the device’s mode of operation on a cycle-by-cycle basis to maintain high efficiency, low EMI, fast dynamic load regulation, and other key power supply parameters in response to varying line voltage and load conditions.

Supplied in miniature QFN packages, Silanna's DC-DC portfolio comprises high-voltage, high-efficiency, wide-input integrated buck converters that offer selectable switching frequencies and have unique features to optimize performance in USB port power supply applications. Extremely low operating power dissipation enables very low no-load power – an important specification for regulatory certification – while a momentary internal feedback path allows for clean and well-controlled start-up operation until external USB-PD controllers can bias themselves and take over control of the output voltage. 

AnyPort Key Features and Benefits

Fully configurable – any number and type of output ports

Design is governed by maximum output power only

Significantly improves the development speed and reduces the complexity of multi-port fast charger and adapter designs

Enabled by Silanna Semiconductor's end-to-end AC/DC and DC/DC line of products

CO₂ Smart Power