New Industry Products

di/dt Debuts the Q Series of Quarter-Brick DC/DC Converters

February 11, 2001 by Jeff Shepard

di/dt Inc. (Carlsbad, CA) recently launched the Q Series, a comprehensive portfolio of next-generation open-frame 24V- and 48V-input quarter-brick dc/dc converters for telecommunications, datacommunications, and wireless applications. The converters, which are available in 30A and 20A versions, weigh 27g and measure 2.3" x 1.45" x 0.26". The series is also available in the industry-standard quarter-brick through-hole pinout. Power-One Inc. (Camarillo, CA), which invested $3.0 million in di/dt, has an exclusive license of di/dt's technology for the communications industry, of which the Q Series is a part.

The Q Series features a typical efficiency of 90 percent. The modules perform in high ambient conditions, permitting the end-user to power more components on a circuit card. Their low height maximizes the number of circuit cards in a rack and virtually eliminates the airflow "shadowing" that comes with existing quarter-bricks that have a typical height of 0.40" to 0.50". This allows maximum airflow for cooling down-stream heat dissipating devices.

The 48V input modules of the Q Series have an operating input range of 36V to 75V, and the 24V input modules operate from input voltages ranging from 18V to 36V. Both 48V and 24V input versions have an input to output isolation of 2,000V. The modules are available in five standard output voltages from 1.5 Vout to 3.3 Vout.

"di/dt is proud to introduce our Q Series product line to the market," said Dr. Apurba Roy, president and CEO of di/dt, Inc. These products represent the best in the industry, from the best people in the industry. You can expect the same high caliber of product offerings from di/dt in the future, as we continue to expand our product line. Additionally, through our licensing arrangement with Power-One, we're able to provide the marketplace a dual source for these leading-edge products at an early stage."

The Q Series comes with input under-voltage and over-voltage lockout, thermal shutdown, remote on/off, output voltage adjust utilizing industry-standard external trim resistor values, output over-voltage, over-current and short-circuit protections. In quantities of 1,000 pieces, the 30A Q Series is priced at $92. Samples are available now, with production scheduled for August.

di/dt was founded on March 31, 2000 by Dr. Apurba Roy. Dr. Roy, who holds a Ph.D. in physics, spent 12 years at Bell Laboratories before founding di/dt. He created Lucent's Titania Division and served as director of research and development. Also at di/dt is Dr. Miki Brkovic, vice president of research, development and engineering. Dr. Brkovic is also di/dt's chief designer. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology. Dr Brkovic was formerly at Lucent's Titania Division with Dr. Apurba, as was Florencio Eiranova, di/dt's director of process.

Eiranova is in charge of developing and implementing the advanced surface-mount manufacturing processes that are used to make di/dt's dc/dc converters. Bob Cantrell, di/dt's vice president of marketing and sales was also at Lucent Technologies for 16 years, where he supported board-mounted and Titania dc/dc converters as well as developed market requirements for new product platforms. As CFO and vice president for operations, di/dt has Steve Deakins, who received a BS degree in Business Management from the University of Tennessee and is a CPA. Deakins continues to leverage his expertise in electronic process technologies, including advanced passive devices, multi-layer substrates, and interconnects, at di/dt. He holds 2 US patents and has 2 patents pending. The Q Series is di/dt's first product offering.