Product category:
Power Supply ICs and Controllers
News Release from: Micrel | Subject: MIC4681 switching convertor
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 05 December 2000
World's simplest buck regulator boosted
to 2A
Micrel has boosted the output capability of the industry's simplest surface-mount DC/DC switching convertor to 2A while retaining the device's original SO-8 packaging.
Micrel has boosted the output capability of the industry's simplest surface-mount DC/DC switching convertor to 2A while retaining the device's original SO-8 packaging The MIC4681 is the newest member of Micrel's SO-8 SuperSwitcher family
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 5 Dec 2000 at 8.00am (UK)
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"The MIC4681 is ideal for applications where a pulsed current is higher than the nominal current", says Tony Grizelj, Micrel's marketing manager for power products.
"The latest generation TDMA and GSM cellular phones, for example, require up to 1.8A of peak current while transmitting.
Since the current is pulsed in a low duty cycle, the average current drawn by the load is much less than the peak", Grizelj says.
Using only four external components, the MIC4681 features a 2A current limit that can handle the maximum currents of GSM power supplies.
At the same time, the device's thermally efficient fused copper leadframe design allows the MIC4681 to easily handle more than 1A of continuous current.
The MIC4681 offers built-in safety features of thermal shutdown protection as well as a wide input voltage range of 4 to 30V, assuring safe operation in harsh environments where spikes and noise can be present.
The SO8 packaging saves board space by allowing designers to replace bulky TO-220 and TO-263 packages, which are now the common solution for 2A power supplies.
"The MIC4681's high level of output current combined with its simplicity and small physical size allows designers to save space and reduce system cost", says Grizelj.
The MIC4681BM in an SO-8 package is priced at $2.30 in 1,000-piece quantities.
Samples are available from stock, and the datasheet can be found at www.micrel.com/pdfs/mic4681.pdf.
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