BTX Computer Motherboard Power

Management Solutions
Charles Bailley and George Lakkas, Intersil Corporation
11/1/2004 02:00 PM EST
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The Balanced Technology Extended (BTX) interface specification was developed by Intel
to provide standard interfaces and form factors in an effort to address the thermal and
acoustical issues associated with the ever-increasing power dissipation of desktop
microprocessors, chipsets, and graphics cards in smaller desktop computing systems.

The BTX specification outlines the necessary mechanical and electrical design interfaces
for the chassis, motherboard, power supply, and other system component design, and
provides component placement guidelines that enable more efficient system cooling for the
CPU, graphics, chipsets, PCI Express slots, and their associated voltage regulators. This is
accomplished, while pursuing the goal for a quieter PC.

In the BTX PC the CPU is placed at the front, right next to the intake fan, which is encased
by what is known as a thermal module. The thermal module includes a heatsink and an air
duct that guides the airflow to the hot components. As illustrated in Figure 1, the Memory
Controller Hub (MCH), I/O Controller Hub (ICH), graphics, and PCI-Express slot are all
located in the same line as the CPU to benefit from the thermal module airflow.

Figure 1 " BTX Motherboard Air Flow and Component Placement

Figure 2 illustrates three types of BTX motherboard form factors: picoBTX, microBTX,
and regular BTX. The picoBTX standard can support either one or two expansion slots and
has four mounting holes. PicoBTX cases will have one 3.5" and one 5.25" drive bay. The
microBTX standard, which most are expecting to be the most popular of the three, has
support for four expansion slots and has seven mounting holes. MicroBTX cases will
feature one 3.5" bay and up to two 5.25" bays. The regular full-sized BTX motherboard
supports up to 7 expansion slots and mounts to the case using 10 mounting screws. Regular
BTX cases will be more like the mid-tower ATX cases, supporting three or more 3.5" bays
and three or more 5.25" bays.

Figure 2 " BTX Motherboard Form Factors

The BTX Power Supply Unit (PSU) delivers +12V, -12V, +5V, +3.3V, and +5VSB
(standby). The +5VSB is the only voltage available from the computer power supply when
the other voltage supplies are off in any of the computer ACPI sleep states.

The first desktop systems with BTX motherboards will use Intel's Pentium 4 processor
based on the VRD10.1 specification, and the latest Intel processors come with the new
LGA775 CPU socket.

The Intersil approach to motherboard power system delivery is one where the voltage
regulator architecture simplifies design and placement, minimizes the number of on-board
voltage regulators and their associated BOM costs, and reduces the time-to-market by
providing easy cut-and-paste solutions from one model to the next.

Addressing the VRD10.1 BTX power system led to the development of a complete power
management solution as shown in Figure 3. The ISL6561 is a two-to-four-phase VRD10.X
PWM controller and the ISL6612/13/14 are MOSFET drivers for the CPU core voltage
regulator. The ISL6612/13 are single-channel FET drivers, driving two N-channel
MOSFETs in a synchronous-rectified buck converter stage. The ISL6614 integrates two
ISL6613 drivers, and drives four N-channel MOSFETs for two synchronous rectified
bridges. The ISL6537A is a 5-in-1 DDR/chipset/FSB/VDAC voltage regulator. The
ISL6506B is a linear dual-output ACPI voltage regulator.

Click to enlarge

Figure 3 " Intersil VRD10.1 BTX Motherboard Power Management System

The Intersil power solution takes advantage of the BTX airflow as shown in the
motherboard photo in Figure 4. The CPU core regulator is located in front of the thermal
module at the bottom of the photo, and the ISL6506 ACPI power controller is exposed to
cooling, when placed near the DIMMs, NW of the CPU socket. The ISL6537A and
ISL6612 are placed next to the DIMMs, and near the chipset in order to provide tight
voltage regulation.

Figure 4: Intersil Power System Solution on BTX Motherboards

(Motherboard photo Courtesy of International Business Machines Corporation. Unauthorized use not permitted.)

The power requirements of the Pentium 4 processor require a multiphase buck voltage
regulator, which uses the +12V PSU voltage source to regulate to a 6-bit VID-programmed
CPU core output voltage. The Intersil Endura ISL6561 is a two-to-four phase VRD10.X
synchronous PWM buck controller that drives a combination of Intersil's single and dual
synchronous-rectified MOSFET drivers to form a multiphase buck dc/dc converter
regulating Intel's VRD10.X Pentium 4 CPU core voltage. It comes in a 40-pad 6X6mm
Quad Flat No-leads (QFN) package. The ISL6561 employs either low FET Rds(on) or
DCR (inductor DC resistance) current sensing in each phase for channel current balance,
adaptive voltage positioning (droop), and over-current protection. By utilizing either an
internal or external thermistor, the ISL6561 nullifies the low FET Rds(on) temperature
sensitivity and ensures droop accuracy and optimal core converter loadline performance.
The thermistor integration reduces additional BOM cost and PCB area on the BTX
motherboard. The differential current sensing feature of the PWM controller is a key
feature in implementing precise channel current balance, over-current protection trip, and
microprocessor loadline performance. The loadline window is a voltage tolerance band
around the CPU core voltage that has to be met as load current increases, for the processor
reliability and performance to be optimal. Intersil will also be sampling a multiphase PWM
controller family for Intel's next generation VR specification later this year.
The ISL6561 is paired with Intersil's new ISL6612, ISL6613 or ISL6614 MOSFET
drivers. These Endura driver ICs offer fast 2-MHz switching with up to 3-A drive current
for synchronous-buck configured N-channel MOSFETs. The ISL6612 drives the upper
MOSFET's gate to 12V, while the lower MOSFET's gate can be independently driven over
a range from 5V to 12V. The ISL6613 drives both upper and lower MOSFET gates over a
range of 5 V to 12 V. This drive-voltage flexibility provides optimization of applications
involving trade-offs between gate charge and conduction losses. The ISL6614 further
reduces BOM cost and PCB area, by combining two ISL6613 FET drivers in one chip.

The ISL6612/13/14 offer a unique pre-Power-On-Reset (pre-POR) over-voltage protection

feature. The pre-POR over-voltage protection function becomes operational before the
FET driver VCC exceeds its turn-on (rising) threshold. Upon DC/DC converter power-up,
and at a very low voltage, the ISL6612/6613 look for over-voltage events, such as upper
MOSFET shorts. When such an event is detected, the PHASE node is connected to the
gate of the low side MOSFET (LGATE), limiting the output voltage of the converter to the
gate-to-source threshold voltage (Vgs(th)) of the low-side MOSFET. For complete
protection the lower MOSFET gate threshold should be below the maximum voltage rating
of the load.

The ISL6612/13/14 also have a 36V Bootstrap (BOOT) pin rating that enables the FET
drivers to withstand switching node spikes, typically found in switch-mode DC/DC
converters. The near-chip-scale 10-pad 3X3mm Dual Flat No-leads (DFN) and 16-pad
4X4mm QFN packaging offer high thermal efficiency and space savings.

To speed time to market and reduce implementation costs, Intersil has developed a Drop-In
Power Solution (DIPS) to implement the CPU core regulator with first pass success on a
BTX MB VRD10.1 layout. The DIPS reference designs are optimized for the Pentium 4
LGA775 socket, as well as the previous generation mPGA478 socket (VRD10). For the
LGA775 socket, the CPU core voltage regulator supplies current from the North and East
side of the socket, with the ISL6561 located in the Southeast corner. Voltage regulator
component height is kept to a 9mm maximum around the CPU, due to the Socket LGA775
Thermal Solution keep-out zone.

A design procedure, schematic, component layout, bill of materials, and test report of the
ISL6561 + ISL6612x3 DIPS evaluation board are provided. Shown in Figure 5, layout
takes into consideration the LGA775 power delivery path, along with the keep-out areas on
the motherboard. The Intersil DIPS for the Pentium 4 processor in the LGA775 socket is
capable of supplying 105 A of continuous current with airflow, while meeting the Pentium
4 CPU loadline specification.
Figure 5: Intersil DIPS (Drop-In Power Solution) for Pentium 4 LGA775 CPU on BTX
Motherboard

As illustrated in Figure 6, taking temperature measurements on the power train

components is very important as it allows the designer to select the proper FETs and
inductors, the right package, optimize the component placement, and routing, and ensure
that the proper amount of airflow is available for cooling. The BTX motherboard layout
allows more air to get to the CPU core regulator and the other down-stream voltage
regulators because the placement of the CPU and peripherals is streamlined.
Figure 6: Thermal Measurement Set-up for Pentium 4 LGA775 CPU Core Regulator

For the peripheral voltages, a pair of Intersil multi-output voltage regulators completes the
power delivery. The ISL6537A and ISL6506 regulate a total of seven motherboard
voltages: the DDR memory core, DDR termination, chipset core, 5V(dual), 3.3V(dual),
VDAC, as well as the CPU front side bus termination voltage. As shown in Figure 7, the
ISL6537A is a five-in-one voltage regulator that regulates the DDR/DDRII core voltage,
DDR termination, chipset core, Front Side Bus (FSB), and DAC portion of the chipset.
Figure7: ISL6537A Power System Diagram

The ISL6537A provides a complete ACPI-compliant power solution for up to four dual in-
line memory module (DIMM) dual-channel DDR/DDR2 memory systems. It comes in a
28-pad 6X6mm QFN package. The synchronous buck controller supplies the DDR/DDRII
core (VDDQ) during the S0/S1 and S3 states. During the S0/S1 state, a fully integrated 3-
A sink/source regulator generates an accurate (VDDQ/2) high-current DDR/DDRII
termination voltage (VTT) without the need for a negative supply. The ISL6537A has a
second PWM controller that regulates the chipset core voltage via an external ISL6612
MOSFET driver. This partitioning is optimal, as routing the MOSFET driver allows more
flexibility in placement of the regulator, reduces thermal dissipation inside the ISL6537A,
minimizes the risk for noise coupling between the ISL6612 driver gate trace and the
MOSFET, and improves the overall voltage accuracy by having the driver right next to the
point of load. Two more linear regulators are included in the ISL6537A: the FSB/VID_Vtt
termination LDO controller, and the DAC LDO controller. The ISL6537A is fully
compliant to the i915G, i915GV, and i915P chipset power sequence requirements.

On a BTX motherboard, the ISL6537A and the ISL6612 are located to the NW of the
LGA775 P4 CPU socket, next to the DIMMs and close to the chipset in order to provide
tight DDR/DDRII, FSB termination, chipset core, and VDAC voltage regulation (Figure8).
The ISL6537 is a version of the ISL6537A, with the second chipset core PWM controller
replaced by a dual-stage Low Drop-Out (LDO) regulator.
Figure 8: DDR/chipset/FSB/VDAC regulator and ACPI controller on BTX Motherboard
(Motherboard photo Courtesy of International Business Machines Corporation. Unauthorized use not permitted.)

Two other combination regulators that are related to the ISL6537A are the ISL6548 and
ISL6548A. Both ICs are fully compliant to the high-end i925X chipset power-up timing.
The ISL6548/48A differ from the ISL6537A in that their FSB/VID_Vtt LDO not only
sources but also sinks current from the bus termination, an i925X chipset requirement.

Intersil will soon sample the ISL6548/48A 4-in-1 and 5-in-1 output voltage regulators that
are fully-compliant not only to the i925X chipset, but also to the next-generation Intel
Desktop chipset power sequencing and voltage rail regulation requirements. Shown in
Figure 9, the ISL6548 family is optimized for lower voltage rails associated with DDRIII
and next generation chipset and termination. The ISL6548/48A's backwards compatibility
with the i925, as well as with DDR/DDRII memory-based systems enables seamless
transition of power solutions from one chipset platform to the next.
Figure 9: ISL6548A 5-in-1 Voltage Regulator for the Next-generation Desktop Chipset

Illustrated in Figure 10, Intersil's ISL6506B dual ACPI-compliant regulator completes the
BTX MB power system. Packaged in a space-saving and thermally enhanced 8-lead
exposed-pad SOIC (8L EPSOIC), the ISL6506B regulates 5V dual, for the USB, keyboard
and mouse, and 3.3V dual /3.3V standby for PCI, auxiliary and LAN circuits in S3/S5
ACPI modes.
Figure 10: ISL6506B Dual ACPI LDO Regulator/Controller

The ISL6506B uses a 2A integrated linear regulator to generate 3.3V dual from the ATX
supply's 5VSB output during sleep states (S3, S4/S5). In active states, during S0 and
S1/S2, the ISL6506B uses an external N-channel pass MOSFET to connect the outputs
directly to the 3.3V input supplied by an ATX power supply, for minimal losses. The
ISL6506B generates 5Vdual by switching in the ATX 5V output through an NMOS
transistor in active states, or by switching in the ATX 5VSB through a PMOS (or PNP)
transistor in S3 sleep state. In S4/S5 sleep states, the ISL6506B 5Vdual output is shut
down.

Another member of the ISL6506 family, the ISL6506A, keeps the 5Vdual output on during
S4/S5 sleep states. The ISL6506B operating mode (active outputs or sleep outputs) is
selectable through two digital control pins, S3# and S5#. As illustrated in Figure 11, the
ISL6506B provides the ISL6537A with the 5V dual power input required for down-
conversion to the DDR core and the other voltages.

Figure 11: ISL6506 + ISL6537 Peripheral Voltage Regulator Pair

Conclusion

As BTX form factor motherboards are expected to become mainstream OEM/ODM

designs in the coming year, a holistic, cut-and-paste approach to the motherboard power
system is required. Intersil's CPU core, peripheral, and ACPI voltage regulator chipset
optimizes the BTX motherboard design, by reducing the BOM cost, and PCB area,
simplifying component placement, and complying with the current as well as next-
generation Intel desktop chipset power sequencing requirements. Intersil's DIPS reference
design tool significantly reduces time to market by providing an easy and reliable cut-and-
paste layout of the BTX motherboard voltage regulators.

Authors
George Lakkas, Product Marketing Manager, Power Management Products, Durham, NC
B.S.E.E, Northeastern University, Boston, MA

Charles Bailley, Staff Design Engineer, Power Management Products, Palm Bay, FL
B.S.E.E, U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD
Endura is a trademark of Intersil Americas Inc. 2004 Intersil Americas Inc. All Rights Reserved