Hot Swap Controllers

FireWire (IEEE 1394) controllers from Analog Devices allow the safe insertion and removal of FireWire peripherals into a live FireWire port by providing inrush current control and output current-limiting functions. The MAX5944 and MAX5943 feature a current-limit function that actively limits the current drawn by the load with a 2 ms timeout. Its autoretry function then automatically restarts after the 259 ms autoretry delay time.

With operating voltages up to ±1000 V, Analog Devices’ high voltage hot swap controller ICs provide a rugged and reliable solution for critical, high availability −48 V (such as AdvancedTCA^®) and +48 V systems in networking and telecommunications. Galvanic isolation protects low voltage digital circuits controlling high voltage supplies in industrial, datacom, electric vehicle, and avionics systems. Some of the controllers offer board power monitoring capabilities with integrated ADCs, accessible through an I²C/SMBus interface.

Analog Devices’ low voltage hot swap ICs feature operating voltages down to 0 V. With features such as multilevel overcurrent protection, low quiescent current operation, precision circuit breaker, current monitoring output, internal (10 A and 20 A with guaranteed SOA) or external MOSFETs, an integrated ADC with an I²C interface, SOA sharing dual current paths, ideal diode control, supply sequencing, or tracking in multiple-supply applications, these controllers offer a compact and robust solution for board or blade insertion into live backplanes of either proprietary or standards-based (MicroTCA, AMC) chassis.

Analog Devices’s portfolio of PCI hot swap controllers offers a rugged and compact solution for safe board insertion and extraction in industrial computers and servers by utilizing multiple low voltage supplies specified in bus standards such as PCI, CompactPCI, and PCI Express. Features include bus prebiasing (precharge), local PCI reset logic, sequencing, integrated switches, and I²C monitoring and control.

Hot-swap integrated circuits prevent system failures by managing the inrush current during live insertion of line cards. These ICs also limit current during the normal operation of high availability systems. Analog Devices’ solutions are optimized for networking, servers, and storage and telecom systems. To enable proactive maintenance and diagnostics, selected hot-swap products improve system reliability by integrating current, voltage, and fault monitoring over an I²C interface. Other solutions integrate a power MOSFET and current sense to simplify designs and reduce the total bill of materials (BOM) cost.