New Industry Products

Fairchild Introduces New Series Of Power Load Switches

August 17, 2008 by Jeff Shepard

Fairchild Semiconductor introduced its FPF22xx series of advanced load switches which it says have superior current limiting accuracy for robust circuit protection. This tight tolerance series of advanced load switches is said to provide an optimal design balance between ensuring sufficient system protection and delivering high performance. This protection is said to be particularly important in USB applications where the number of accessories and peripherals have exponentially increased; presenting designers with the challenge of ensuring that their circuit designs have robust protection.

The FPF22xx series’ protection features include undervoltage lockout (UVLO), thermal shutdown and current limiting. Undervoltage lockout turns off the switch if the input voltage drops below an undervoltage lockout threshold, preventing circuit damage. Thermal shutdown averts any damage due to excessive heat and eliminates the need for external circuitry. Current limiting ensures that the current through the switch doesn’t exceed a maximum value, while not limiting it to less than the value needed to deliver the right amount of current at the right time. All of these features provide a robust protection interface between the application circuitry, battery and other accessories. With this strong protection and a wide operating range from 1.8 to 5.5V, Fairchild claims that the FPF22xx switches are instrumental in simplifying design, reducing component count and minimizing board space in cell phones, GPS navigation devices, notebook computers, glucometers and many other handheld applications.

Fairchild states that it offers the industry’s broadest portfolio of IntelliMAX advanced load switch solutions. These devices address a wide operating range (1.2 to 20V) and serve portable, low voltage industrial, telecom and medical applications as well as other systems that require power load switching.

The FPF22xx series utilize lead-free (Pb-free) terminals and have been characterized for moisture sensitivity in accordance with the Pb-free reflow requirements of the joint IPC/JEDEC standard J-STD-020. The units are priced (1000 pcs.) at US $1.19, with a delivery time of 12-14 weeks.