National Semi expands WEBENCH

BANGALORE, INDIA: National Semiconductor, which creates energy-efficient analog and mixed-signal semiconductors as well as SolarMagic power optimizers, has expanded its WEBENCH designer tool offering by introducing of WEBENCH Power Architect – a design tool that allows engineers to rapidly create, model and implement multiple-output, high-performance DC-DC power supplies for an entire system.

With WEBENCH Power Architect, system designers can quickly optimize multiple power supplies across several performance parameters including topology, intermediate voltage rails, footprint, EFFICIENCY, component count and bill of materials (BOM) cost, said a press release.

“WEBENCH Power Architect is the first tool to make it easy to quickly design power supplies for all of the loads in a system,” said Phil Gibson, vice president of technical sales tools, National Semiconductor.

“Depending on the tool’s optimizer dial setting, a typical system with eight power loads will have a BOM count ranging from 50 to 150 components. This is the only tool that lets you instantly compare performance and cost for many alternative system combinations, and quickly implement them,” Gibson added.

WEBENCH Power Architect supports National’s recently launched Simple SWITCHer power modules. They provide highly-integrated and easy-to-use solutions for power supplies requiring low parts-count, small footprint, thermal resistant and low electromagnetic interference (EMI).

Using WEBENCH Power Architect’s library of 21,000 components from 110 manufacturers, designers have a wide range of system alternatives for creating large scale complex systems.

When engineers finish 'dialing-in' their preference for footprint, system BOM cost and power efficiency, WEBENCH Power Architect’s graphical analysis capability instantly identifies major sources of power dissipation, cost and footprint area. It allows the user to edit individual power supplies and loads to further model and optimize the overall system for thermal and electrical performance design goals, said the release.