Plugging the global power leak [appliance standby mode power reduction]

Standby mode is a convenient but extremely wasteful feature of many electronics products. The authors describe how the GreenChip family is helping to produce a more environmentally friendly switched mode power supply. The new ICs implement an extensive set of power management functions focused on improving the efficiency of the standard flyback supply in standby mode. They achieve this by introducing three special modes of operation, referred to as burst-mode, off-mode and low-frequency mode. Use of GreenChip devices can typically reduce standby power to 2-3 W, and for a slight increase in cost this can be brought down to less than 500 mW. Along with these green features, the ICs have been designed to simplify the design task and reduce the component count, thereby addressing environmental concerns while reducing overall product costs. A new development in high-voltage IC technology based on a thin-layer silicon-on-insulator (SOI) process has been announced by Philips Semiconductors. This technology, known as EZ-HV-SOI, is expected to allow significant improvements and enhancements in the next generation of GreenChip controllers.