Boost regulators lay claim to top power density

National Semiconductor reckons it is now offering the industry's most powerful boost regulators in a tiny package.

National Semiconductor reckons it is now offering the industry's most powerful boost regulators in a tiny package.

The two products set a new standard for power density by combining current-mode control, subminiature packaging and high switching frequency.

This new standard in power density is made possible by National's analogue bipolar CMOS DMOS (ABCD) 150 process, the fundamental element in National's new family of high-frequency SOT-23 regulators.

"National listens to its customers and develops power solutions that make a real difference.

These SOT23-5 boost regulators give the designers of USB modems, digital cameras, cellular handsets and a host of space-constrained applications the power they need, in the area they've got to work with", said Johan Hedman, Marketing Manager of National Semiconductor's Power Management Group in Europe.

"Our process technology and innovative circuitry design results in power products that give our customers competitive advantage".

These easy-to-use regulators enable a high-performance 3W step-up convertor in a PCB area of less than 0.8 cm2 to meet the power needs of digital cameras, cellphones, PCMCIA and USB peripherals and DSL modems.

The first two convertors of the family, the LM2731 and LM2733, operate at 600kHz or 1.6MHz switching frequency, are housed in a SOT23, 5-pin package and use current-mode control for superior load and line regulation.

The LM2731 has a 22V, 1.5A switch, and the LM2733 has a 1A, 40V switch.

Cellphone vendors are differentiating their products by adding digital cameras; consumers want the new camera feature in the same form factor without added bulk.

The LM2731 is the ideal part to power the flash in the limited area available for the latest generation of cameras.

Many line-powered systems distribute 3.3 and 5V, but need 12 or 15V generated at the point of load.

The LM2731/33 family provides a tiny and high-performance solution to this common problem.

USB and PCMCIA devices get 4.5-5V from the host but often need 5 or 12V.

Some lithium-ion powered systems such as cellphones and digital cameras use four or more white LEDs to illuminate a colour LCD display.

The LM2731 provides the power necessary for these applications without the audible and electrical noise associated with variable frequency solutions.

National Semiconductor's LM2731 and LM2733 boost regulators are available for shipment now.

The two devices are priced at $1.08 each in 1000-off quantities.

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