onsemi Introduces Treo Platform to Enhance Power Management
December 09, 2024
Story
The power part of the embedded equation is becoming ever-more critical. Embedded design is always trying to balance the three factors of performance, cost and energy, but as energy becomes more expensive and efficiency becomes more required, the old days of ignoring power use are long over. Even more so at the edge, where unlimited power isn’t even an option, usually.
The automotive, industrial, and HPC/data center are particularly concerned with power supply and efficiency, although no industry is far behind them. In addition, stricter regulations are coming into play all over the world as nations strive to mitigate climate change. This driving need for greater energy efficiency to manager cost and sustainability requires greater performance and functionality in end applications and embedded systems design.
Another layer of complexity enters with low power devices and edge computing. These are becoming more sophisticated and more strategically important, and so they require more intelligence, often in the form of AIand ML applications, and better efficiency.
All of these factors mean that embedded systems designers, engineers, and developers are in need of integrated, advanced power and sensing solutions that can meet the pull of the processing pillar, whilst also delivering greater intelligence and energy efficiency across the entire power spectrum.
To meet these needs, onsemi has introduced its new Treo Platform, which is an analog and mixed-signal platform built with Bipolar-CMOS-DMOS (BCD) process technology on a 65nm node, according to a recent release.
The platform is designed to provide a foundation for a wide range of power and sensing solutions, the company said. These will include high-performance and low-power sensing, high-efficiency power management, and purpose-built communications devices.
onsemi said that the platform is meant to give their customers a single, scalable solution that will simplify and accelerate product development, while also offering a speedy path to market for new and emerging opportunities.
Products built on the Treo Platform reportedly can achieve significant improvements in accuracy, performance and efficiency that result in an improvement in function, safety and overall quality of life.
In automotive, onsemi says that high-performance ultrasonic sensors can improve accuracy by a factor of two, meaning they can detect objects that are much closer to the vehicle than before in park assist applications. With the ability to detect objects at closer distances, the park assist system can provide better collision avoidance and improve overall safety by helping drivers avoid obstacles more effectively when parking.
In healthcare, ultra-low-power Analog Front Ends (AFEs) for continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices can more accurately measure very small electrical currents, down to the nanoampere (nA) level. This precision is crucial for detecting the tiny signals generated by glucose sensors, ensuring accurate glucose readings. By integrating multiple functions into a single, compact chip, the platform is designed to cut the required footprint in half and extend the battery life to several weeks. This means the overall CGM device can be smaller and more comfortable for the patient to wear with fewer replacements to save on healthcare costs.
In data centers, the Treo Platform reportedly will enable more compact onsemi smart power stages, contributing to efficiency improvements in power delivery to GPUs and CPUs. This can lead to reduced cooling requirements and substantial energy savings, resulting in lower operational costs and a smaller, more sustainable environmental footprint.
The Treo Platform is built with a modular, SoC-like architecture and a set of ever-evolving IP building blocks that make up the compute, power management, sensing, and communications subsystems. Built on the 65nm process node, the Treo Platform is set to offer advanced digital processing capabilities and better analog IP performance. With these capabilities, the platform can deliver local intelligence and compute for flexible configuration, as well as significantly improve performance and accuracy in end applications. The platform supports the industry’s widest voltage range of 1-90V and operating temperatures up to 175° C, which allows customers to integrate a range of low-to-high power functionality.
Initial product families built on the Treo Platform are sampling now, including voltage translators, ultra-low-power AFEs, LDOs, ultrasonic sensors, multi-phase controllers, and single-pair Ethernet controllers. Through 2025, onsemi said it plans to deliver an even broader array of product families, including: high performance sensors, DC-DC converters, automotive LED drivers, electrical safety ICs, connectivity, and more.
Ken Briodagh is a writer and editor with two decades of experience under his belt. He is in love with technology and if he had his druthers, he would beta test everything from shoe phones to flying cars. In previous lives, he’s been a short order cook, telemarketer, medical supply technician, mover of the bodies at a funeral home, pirate, poet, partial alliterist, parent, partner and pretender to various thrones. Most of his exploits are either exaggerated or blatantly false.
