New Industry Products

Microchip Expands Its Power Management Line

September 05, 2001 by Jeff Shepard

Microchip Technology Inc. (Puyallup, WA) announced the release of six new additions to its low dropout (LDO) regulator family, the TC2014, TC2015, TC2054, TC2055, TC2185, and TC2186. These six new devices feature extremely low dropout voltage (140mV at 150mA) and supply current (55uA), extending battery life and improving system efficiency.

By offering superior upgrades to existing solutions on the market and improving system performance, reducing board space, and minimizing component cost, Microchip's new LDO family is ideal for a variety of battery-operated applications (such as cellular phones, PDAs, pagers, laptops, modems, and MP3 players).

The devices feature very low output noise, making them ideal for portable communications equipment. A shutdown mode is also provided to reduce power consumption to as low as 0.05uA.

Furthermore, the device's small package and the ability to utilize tiny external ceramic capacitors result in significantly smaller board space and lower overall system cost. The TC2XXX family of LDOs provides users with higher performance LDOs, without sacrificing any of the electrical parameters or dynamic behavior.

"This new LDO series provides superior replacements for currently available LDO solutions. They offer extremely low dropout voltage and supply current and are therefore ideal for any battery-operated application.

"Furthermore, they demonstrate excellent dynamic performance and low output noise, two very significant requirements for cellular phones and other wireless devices. These new product introductions are consistent with our continuous commitment to developing and marketing advanced power management solutions that add value to customers' applications," commented George Paparrizos, product marketing manager at Microchip.

All devices are offered with a wide range of voltage options. The TC2014, TC2015, and TC2185 feature a reference bypass input for further reducing output noise. The TC2054, TC2055, and TC2186 feature an /ERROR output that can be used as a low-battery indicator or as a microprocessor reset.

The TC2014 and TC2054 have a maximum output current of 50mA, the TC2015 and TC2055 have a maximum output current of 100mA, and the TC2185 and TC2186 have a maximum output current of 150mA.

Extremely low dropout voltage, low supply current and excellent dynamic performance make the TC2XXX family of LDOs ideal for use in cellular phones, PDAs, pagers, laptops, modems, MP3 players and a number of other applications. All six devices come in small 5-pin SOT-23A packages.

One thousand piece pricing starts at $0.62 each for the TC2014/TC2054, $0.68 each for the TC2015/TC2055, and $0.76 each for the TC2185/TC2186. Samples and volume production are available today.