Using OMAP processors with non-TI power support chips

Hi John,

The usage of the Smart Reflex is not at 100 % mandatory but it is recommended because:

The variations in the silicon manufacturing processes are responsible for the difference in performance and/or power consumption of the device. Adaptive Voltage Scaling - AVS, implemented with SmartReflex(TM) technology, tends to narrow this difference.

Dedicated SmartReflex hardware implements a feedback loop - without processor intervention - which optimizes the voltage levels to account for differences in the manufacturing process, temperature and silicon degradation.

The processor ROM code expects that the Smart Reflex hardware is active and if it doesn't work some errors will appear.

If the AM37xx processor in your board works at high frequency (nearly 1 GHz) its operating life will decrease considerably.

If you are searching for less expensive DC/DC converter for your board I suggest you to search for some decision posting new thread in the Non-Isolated DC/DC Section of the TI E2E Support Community at the link:

http://e2e.ti.com/support/power_management/non-isolated_dcdc/default.aspx

Therefore I suggest you to use a DC/DC converter which supports SmartReflex(TM) technology.

BR

Tsvetolin Shulev