Micrel Introduces New ULDO Family Featuring Low Input Voltage Down To 1.6V
Micrel Inc. has launched a new high performance, high PSRR, ultra-low dropout (ULDO™) linear regulator family with input voltage down to 1.6V for high efficiency portable devices such as mobile phones, PDAs, portable media players (PMP), GPS and other portable device applications.
"Low input voltage and ultra-low dropout both equate to extended battery life in portable systems by allowing designers to select a low voltage secondary rail as the supply source. This, in turn, reduces the voltage drop from input-to-output which increases efficiency," noted Andy Cowell, Micrel’s Vice President of Marketing. "Micrel’s MIC5308/09 gives portable product designers a new method for generating a low noise secondary voltage while still maintaining high efficiency."
The MIC5308/09 family offers low dropout voltages of only 45mV@150mA while delivering up to 300mA of output current. The ultra-low dropout and low VIN feature combination is said to allow high efficiency power conversion from low voltage supply rails commonly used in handhelds such as 1.8V. The MIC5308/09 family also offers more than 90db Power Supply Rejection Ratio (PSRR), and what is described as exceptional transient performance while using a small 1µF ceramic output capacitor. In addition, this series features micropower operation requiring only 23uA of quiescent current and less than 2uA in shutdown enabling longer battery life in all operating modes. The MIC5308/09 family comes in two package options; an ultra-thin 0.6mm, 1.6 x 1.6mm 6-pin MLF® package for space-constrained applications and the TSOT-23 package for more cost sensitive designs.
The MIC5308 is currently available in volume with pricing starting at $0.49 for 1K quantities. The MIC5309 is also currently available in volume at $0.53 in 1K quantities.
