GaN “VRM+PDN Validators” in different formats to support different current levels
 
10A-50A – Water-Cooled Probe Head Stepper
 
BENEFITS:
GaN-enabled - Orders of magnitude faster edge speeds than other solutions
Vastly higher power density/currents – up to 100% duty cycle
Transients on the order of the package bandwidth of your VRM
Enables true PDN validation and Power Integrity noise performance
Precise and repeatable load current control allows you to characterize and validate power rail crosstalk, thermal performance, and EMI
Enable your Power Distribution Network to be validated BEFORE the expensive processor/digital load is connected
Vastly outperforms traditional electronic loads and other load stepper solutions
Enables long dwell times for slow load line loop testing
Digital control module with Complete Load Current Control
Pseudo random,Long dwell, Long Pattern, Sine, Digital Slew, Exponential, Fast burst
 
KEY FEATURES:
< 10nS edge speed and DC operation for max average power
Probe tip, liquid-cooled probe and refrigerated-liquid-cooled in-socket
Up to 125W/in2
Highly miniaturized time-matched GaN Load Cells
Digital or Analog control of Digital or Analog Load Cell
 
Water-Cooled Probe Head-Based Solution
Browser probe style
Up to 50A (peak and average)
Direct control of load current profile
Enables infinite dwell time for slow load line loop testing and thermal (TDP) testing
Verify large signal control loop stability
Load emulation &transient testing for FPGA, AI, Big Data, Graphics and Servers
 
Applications:
Power Supply Testing and Measurement
VRM and PDN Validation
Rail noise evaluation
Transient load step (large signal)
SPICE/ADS State Space Average Model Development
Large-signal control loop stability andInput filter stability
Thermal (TDP) testing
IC Package evaluation
 
What's included:
Water-Cooled Solution (Model S50)
Water-Cooled Stepper Probe with six (6) customized load steps
Cooling unit with cooling fluid
 
Transient Testing
Transient load current step testing is a critical part of power system design, test, and verification. No matter the architecture, design make-up, or power levels, transient testing is key to evaluating many aspects including power integrity, power distribution network (‘PDN) validation, Voltage Regulation Module (‘VRM’) stability and transient response, noise, large-signal control loop stability, input filter stability, load emulation, thermal (TDP) testing, and IC package performance.

Picotest’s line of transient steppers enable testing of very fast load current transitions, high peak and average power, via multiple form factors that previously were unavailable or impractical to accomplish. In particular, demanding low-voltage, high-current applications including those found in data centers, AI, graphics, EV, and servers can now be tested, including crosstalk, thermal performance and EMI, long before the final ASIC is even available.

The power distribution networks that provide power to advanced digital loads such as CPUs, GPUs, ASICs, FPGAs, and other custom ICs can now be validated before the costly ICs are exposed to any power system related unknowns.

Product Selection
The product line provides load step testing orders of magnitude faster and higher than previously available. The S50 has the following product levels are available based on load current 10A-50A. Picotest offers both open and closed-loop load current control options. The open loop stepper is essentially a signal level voltage controlled switch that opens or closes a path from the power rail through a GaN FET and custom resistor. So, while the probe can be moved to rails of different voltages and the step current will vary based on the power rail voltage. The baseline load current is set at the time of purchase for a specified voltage-current combo resulting in fixed resistor values in the probe. 

The S50 10A-50A solution is a water-cooled browser-style probe format with 6 user pre-defined current steps (6-bit logic level control). Again, the current is dependent on the voltage of the power rail.

This step loader replaces the ASIC that normally loads the power rails, allowing thorough power rail validation including load line testing, large signal impedance, thermal testing, crosstalk assessment and EMI. This solution allows programmed and custom load current profiles from 0 to 50A

Water-Cooled Browser Probe (S50)
This is a hand held or probe stand held browser probe. It behaves in a similar way to the P2105A. It comes with a water-cooler that enables the load current/power density to be higher. The current step (current sinking into the positive pin) is controlled by a control wire pair. This is a 6 bit control bus with 3.3V or 5V logic level. There are 6 switches and each can be turned on or off and each can have a level set at the time of manufacturing. So, there are 6 discrete levels that can be switched individually or combined to achieve up to 50Amps.
 
Delivery: 4-6 weeks, depending on resistor selection. Resistor selection and PDN voltage must be specified at checkout. 
 
Please e-mail info@signaledgesolutions.com if you have questions about the resistor selection.
 
Application Notes
Evaluating Voltage Regulator Stability Using Step Load Testing