Rambus Upgrades Server DDR5 PMIC Product Portfolio to Support Higher Bandwidth, Capacity, and Channels

Rambus has upgraded its DDR5 PMIC product line, introducing three new products for servers that support higher performance and capacity. With new Rambus PMIC options and "ultra-high current" devices up to 12V, server performance with DDR5 DRAM will see a comprehensive boost. Rambus has announced the launch of a new series of cutting-edge DDR5 server power management ICs (PMICs) today, including industry-leading high-performance application power devices. With this new server PMIC series, Rambus provides module manufacturers with a complete DDR5 RDIMM memory interface chipset, supporting a wide range of data center use cases.

Technical specifications include:

• Support for I2C and I3C basic bus serial interfaces
• Meeting or exceeding all JESD300-5 performance specifications, with I2C up to 1MHz and I3C up to 12.5MHz
• Parity error checking and Packet Error Checking (PEC) functionality
• Support for In-Band Interrupts (IBI)
• VIN_Bulk input operating voltage from 4.25V to 15V
• VIN_Mgmt input operating at voltages from 3V to 3.6V
• Four buck-type switch regulators (SWA, SWB, SWC, and SWD) and three LDO regulators (VBias, VOUT_1.8V, VOUT_1.0V)
• Write protection and programmable operating modes
• I2C bus can operate at nominal I/O levels from 1.0V to 3.3V
• I3C basic bus can operate at nominal I/O levels of 1.0V, 1.1V, and 1.2V
• Push-pull and open-drain dynamic driver switching for I3C basic bus operations
• Operating temperature range from -100C to +1250C
• 35-pin thermally enhanced FCQFN package PMIC is a key component in the DDR5 memory architecture, enabling more memory channels, larger capacity modules, and higher bandwidth. The Rambus DDR5 Server PMIC series includes products compliant with JEDEC Extreme Current (PMIC5020), High Current (PMIC5000), and Low Current (PMIC5010) specifications.

By utilizing the PMIC on DDR5 DIMMs, power management can be gradually increased based on the required number of memory modules in the system configuration. Another advantage of this power architecture is that it significantly reduces IR drop issues on the transmission network by providing 12V high-voltage power to the modules instead of supplying 1V voltage to the memory modules from the motherboard through the module connector. This provides stricter voltage tolerances for sensitive components on the DIMM, helping to achieve higher DDR5 performance goals.

The Rambus PMIC5020 will set new benchmarks for the performance and capacity of future generations of DDR5 RDIMMs. The new Rambus Server PMIC series, along with Rambus DDR5 RCD, SPD Hub, and temperature sensor IC, forms a complete memory interface chipset suitable for a wide range of DDR5 RDIMM configurations and use cases.

Rambus DDR5 PMIC5020, PMIC5000, and PMIC5010 are now available. For more information on Rambus DDR5 memory interface chips, visit https://www.rambus.com/ddr5.