AD74416H
Recommended for New Designs
The AD74416H is a quad-channel, software configurable, input and
output device for industrial control applications. The AD74416H
provides a wide range...
Datasheet
AD74416H on Analog.com
“Our module is overheating. What should we do?” This is a typical question I’ve encountered while working with industrial applications and I/O modules. The challenge is: restricted space, high channel density and high channel count per module, no active cooling, and a significant amount of heat being dissipated, especially by current loops as described in my previous blog.
To overcome overheating challenges, a patented approach was developed for the AD74416H chip, allowing active reduction of heat dissipated by up to 40%. This approach is known as adaptive power switching (APS).
In simple terms, the APS concept is described by the following blog: Fried Chips Are for Lunch, Not for Industrial I/O
The current output mode of AD74416H APS employs an area-efficient approach to power reduction by using two voltage power rails shared across multiple channels and chips. Switching between the two voltage rails is performed automatically on a per-channel basis.
The ACE AD74416H GUI offers an APS calculator that optimizes two voltage rails on an application-by-application basis, tailored to system requirements. For the optimization tool (APS Calculator), physical hardware is not required as it works independently of the evaluation board. The difference between the red and blue lines in the plot in Figure 1 (below) illustrates the APS advantage and power dissipation savings.
Figure 1: APS Calculator - Advantage of Adaptive Power Switching (Line Highlight added)
To demonstrate the APS capability on the physical hardware, use the EV-AD74416H-ARDZ board setup and ACE.
In practical applications, loads typically vary from 0Ω to 800Ω. Considering one of the worst-case scenarios, 0Ω is best for demonstration purposes. To simulate 0Ω resistance, each I/OP_x terminal should be shorted directly to I/ON_x (board GND).
Figure 2: EV-AD74416H-ARDZ channel connection for APS experiment
1. Open ACE GUI and configure all channels to the out (Current Output mode) at the maximum current output of 25mA. Details can be found in my previous blog, Current Output Driving Industrial Loops.
2. Configure the diagnostic temperature measurement of the AD74416H chip. Click the Diagnostic Channel block, set up the configuration as shown in Figure 3, click Apply, then open Diagnostic Results to observe the internal chip temperature reading.
Figure 3: Temperature Diagnostic Configuration
3. APS feature can be switched on and off on an individual channel basis by clicking on the “Adaptive Power Switching block” as shown in the diagram above (the DAC block). Changing AVDD_SELECT[x] to LOCK_HI disables the APS feature. Choosing the TRACK option in the drop-down menu enables the APS feature. Each configuration option is available per individual channel. Selection must be confirmed by clicking on the apply button.
4. Once the APS feature is disabled/enabled, the temperature difference of the AD74416H chip can be immediately observed from the ADC reading.
Figure 4: Temperature reading the difference with APS enabled vs APS disabled
Manage chip heat smartly with Adaptive Power Switching, which provides a practical, silicon‑level solution that directly addresses the root cause: unnecessary power dissipation under varying load conditions.
By intelligently tracking channel requirements and dynamically selecting the optimal supply rail, APS enables higher channel density, improved thermal margins, and more robust system operation — without introducing excessive complexity at the board or system level. The impact is immediate and measurable, as demonstrated on real hardware with the EV-AD74416H-ARDZ. The APS turns thermal management from a system headache into an integrated feature, allowing designers to push performance further while keeping temperatures firmly under control.
Read all the blogs in the Configurability IQ series.
