Low-power DC/DC converter renders longer battery runtime

Linear Technology Corp. has launched the LTC3564, a 2.25MHz synchronous buck regulator that can deliver up to 1.25A of continuous output current from a 2mm x 3mm dual flat no lead (DFN) or ThinSOT package.

Using a constant frequency current mode architecture, the regulator operates from an input voltage range from 2.5V to 5.5V, making it suitable for Li-ion battery inputs as well as 3.3V or 5V inputs for point-of-load applications. It can generate output voltages as low as 0.6V, enabling it to power the latest generation of low voltage DSPs and microcontrollers. It uses a constant 2.25MHz switching frequency, enabling the use of tiny, low-cost ceramic capacitors and inductors less than a 1mm in height.

The LTC3564 uses internal switches with an Rds(on) of only 0.15Ω (n-channel and p-channel) to deliver efficiencies as high as 96 percent. It also has low dropout 100-percent duty cycle operation to extend battery runtime. It uses automatic burst-mode operation to achieve only 20?A of no load quiescent current and less than 1?A in shutdown. Other features include ±2 percent output voltage accuracy, current mode operation and overtemperature protection.

The LTC3564EDBC is available in a 2mm x 3mm DFN-6 package, while the LTC3564ES5 is available in a 5-lead ThinSOT package.

- Ismini Scouras
eeProductCenter