Micrel Extends High-Side Power Switch Family
Micrel Inc. launched the MIC94070/1/2/3, a series of high-side load switches that extend Micrel’s family of high-side load switch products. The new devices are aimed at a wide variety of mass-market handheld, battery-powered consumer devices, including cell phones, digital cameras and personal entertainment consoles.
"Battery-powered consumer electronic products demand IC design solutions that are both small and economical, particularly for handheld device applications," said John Lee, Micrel’s Director of Mixed-Signal and RF Products. "The MIC94070/1/2/3 series addresses the most challenging requirements of today’s mass market consumer devices by offering a footprint-conscious design with low component cost. This combination gives designers the best of all worlds – low price, small footprint, and excellent performance."
The MIC94070/1/2/3 all feature a typical RDSON of 120mΩ. The devices operate with inputs ranging from 1.7 to 5.5V. Each IC can be driven by a mere 1.5V of logic, which is accomplished by incorporating a novel built-in level shift circuitry that allows low voltage logic to control higher voltage supplies. Battery time is greatly extended in portable applications due to the low operating current of 2µA and shutdown current of less than 1µA. The MIC94070 and MIC94071 both have rapid turn-on, while the MIC94072 and MIC94073 provide a slew rate controlled soft-start turn-on of 800µs (typical) that prevents in-rush current.
In addition, the MIC94071 and MIC94073 provide an active load discharge circuit that insures capacitive loads retain no charge when the main switch is in an OFF state. The MIC94070/1/2/3 series are available housed in the thin 4-pin 1.2mm x 1.6mm MLF® and Teeny™ SC-70-6 packages.
The MIC94070/1/2/3 series is currently available in volume, with pricing starting at $0.23, for 1K quantities.
