AUSTIN, Texas – March 19, 2005 – Zilker Labs, Inc., today announced that Rev 1.0 of the Power Management Bus (PMBus) specification for power systems control was released by the Power Management Bus Implementers Forum, the consortium of power and semiconductor companies developing the document. Zilker Labs is a founding member of the consortium which was formed by Artesyn Technologies, and also includes Astec Power, Intersil, Texas Instruments, Volterra Semiconductor, Microchip Technology and Summit Microelectronics. Today’s release includes Part I - General Requirements, Transport and Electrical Interface, and Part II - Command Language.
The PMBus standard defines an open architecture and communications protocol implemented over the industry-standard SMBusTM serial bus. Its intent is to enable the industry’s move to digitally-enabled power management without requiring full redesigns of existing systems. In addition to continuing work on the primary specification, the PMBus Implementers Forum announced the formation of new working groups that are focused on addressing issues surrounding the specification’s adoption such as the reference graphical user interface, production programming, user's manual, compliance testing and assurance, bridges to other transports and protocols, and PMBus promotion and marketing.
“The release of the PMBus specification today opens a new era in system power design,” said Ken Fernald, Chief Technology Officer at Zilker Labs and co-author of the specification. “The widespread adoption of this standard will enable new levels of monitoring and control needed by today’s advanced electronic systems as well as give OEMs the flexibility and design time savings they desire.”
Zilker Labs announced earlier this month that its unique mixed-signal power management solutions will support the PMBus protocol. This week, Zilker Labs became the first company to formally adopt the specification. To download Parts I and II of the PMBus specification, please visit http://www.PMBus.info.
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