High-speed designs use digital components with very fast edge rates in their output signals which can be subjected to significant distortion and degradation creating high bit-error-rates and lower data throughput.  Insertion and reflection losses, crosstalk and impedance mismatch, are all factors, amongst others, influencing the integrity of a transmitted signal.

Empower’s E-CAP silicon capacitors provide wide bandwidth low impedance highly stable decoupling capacitors capable of being placed close and even integrated into an SoC substrate.

Empower Semiconductor is developing power management solutions enabling full unrestricted speed and performance of the latest xPUs.

  • High power density
  • High bandwidth conversion
  • Low power distribution losses
  • Vertical Power

The ability to process data and perform complex calculations at high speeds has been intensified in recent years by leaps in technologies such as artificial intelligence, 3-D imaging and autonomous driving. These technologies have exacerbated the need for faster and more complex processors and architectures.

Equipment designed to operate within a high magnetic field environment can experience power failures or abnormal operating conditions due to the force the magnetic field imposes on ferromagnetic material-based electronics.

Moreover, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) devices can record false or distorted images due to the inferences from such electronics. Empower’s IVRs regulators use non-ferromagnetic air-core inductors ideal for operating in harsh magnetic environments.

Data being communicated and processed around the globe is rapidly growing, driving the need for a new generation of faster data processing components and elements in data centers and datacom equipment.

Empower Semiconductor offers novel fully integrated power management solutions that both increase performance and solve the power density challenge of space-constrained data-intensive applications.

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System-on-Modules (SOMs) and Computer-on-Modules (CoMs) provide all components of an embedded processing system (processors, communication interfaces, memory blocks, power management, etc.) on a single production-ready printed circuit board (PCB). This modular approach makes them ideal for embedding into a variety of end systems and applications.Empower’s IVRs provide high-density configurable multi-rails regulators enabling rapid and flexible prototyping.

Chiplet architectures are rapidly gaining popularity over monolithic designs in developing complex SoCs. While providing increased performance, design flexibility and upgradability, they do, however, require more complex power management and PCB routing.

Empower’s IVRs can be integrated as an additional chiplet into an SoC increasing the power delivery efficiency and simplifying PCB routing.

Empower Semiconductor Expands Silicon Capacitor Portfolio with Breakthroughs in Density and Performance

Jul 12, 2022 | Press Release

Latest Empower E-CAP™ technologies represent industry’s highest performance, smallest size, and most configurable capacitor technology platform

San Jose, Calif., July 12th, 2022 — Empower Semiconductor, the world leader in Integrated Voltage Regulators (IVR), has announced that it has expanded its E-CAP™ family of silicon capacitors with new technologies that offer further breakthroughs in density and performance. 

Integrating multiple discrete capacitances into a single solid-state device, E-CAP is the world’s thinnest, most compact and most flexible capacitor solution. The technology brings together a capacitor density that is over five times that of leading multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) with improved equivalent series inductance (ESL) and equivalent series resistance (ESR) characteristics that dramatically reduce parasitics.

Designed using the most advanced trench capacitor technology, the latest E-CAP solutions offer densities of 1.1µF/mm2, which is over twice the density of alternative silicon capacitor technologies. In addition to the density, thickness levels can be achieved below 50µm in overall height.  Multiple, matched capacitance values from 75pF to 5µF (@2V) can be integrated into a single die to create custom integrated capacitor arrays, while form factors can be customized for the space and height limitations of a particular application. Packaging options based on bumps, pads and pillars allow designers to choose the best solution based on specific system constraints

“E-CAP provides a superior high-frequency de-coupling solution with a much smaller footprint and component count than traditional MLCC-based solutions,” says Steve Shultis, Empower’s SVP of Sales and Marketing. “Our technology provides new options for demanding applications in IoT, wearables, mobile, and processors where size, performance, and flexibility are essential. The latest improvements in density and performance make E-CAP ideal for next-generation, data-intensive systems that demand high-frequency operation and maximum efficiency from the smallest possible form factors.”

Using E-CAP, designers can combine all non-bulk, high-frequency decoupling capacitors into a single die to dramatically reduce component count, BoM cost and potential points of failure. Although the E-CAPs have lower nominal capacitance, their superior frequency response and ESL over MLCCs results in lower impedance at high frequencies. And unlike MLCCs where multiple devices are needed to account for de-rating from voltage, temperature and age, E-CAP requires no AC or DC bias de-rating while all other de-rating requirements are negligible. This eliminates the need to ‘over specify’ capacitance requirements to account for de-rating.

About Empower Semiconductor 

The exponential increase in the amount of data being communicated and processed around the globe is driving the energy consumption of data centers and communications networks to 17% of total electricity demand worldwide by 2030(1), dramatically increasing pollution, carbon emissions and cost.  Empower Semiconductor was founded with the mission to “minimize the energy footprint of the digital economy” by developing novel fully integrated power management solutions that both increase the performance and reduce the power consumption of energy-hungry, data-intensive applications.  

Traditional power solutions require dozens of discrete components with big footprints, complex designs and deliver power inefficiently with poor response times and inaccuracies. Empower Semiconductor’s patented IVR technology integrates dozens of components into a single IC increasing efficiency, shrinking footprints by 10x and delivering power with unprecedented simplicity, speed & accuracy and with zero discrete components. The Empower IVR™ technology solves the power density challenge to address a wide range of applications including mobile, wearables, 5G, AI, and data centers. In 2020 the capacitor technology platform was added to further address power density. E-CAP revolutionized the capacitor industry as the world’s smallest, highest performing, and incredibly reliable capacitor for wearables, mobile, and SoC applications. The company is based in Silicon Valley, CA and is led by a team of highly experienced power experts and executives.

Empower Semiconductor and the Empower logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Empower Semiconductor, Inc. All other brands, product names and marks are or may be trademarks or registered trademarks used to identify products or services of their respective owners.