The SC196A is synchronous step-down converter designed for high current applications which rely on minimal external circuity. It is a general purpose power supply for power-hungry yet efficiency conscious systems such as multi-function printers with 2.7 to 5.5V input requiring specific output voltages of 1.0V, 1.05V, 1.2V and/or 1.8V. When needed, VID1 and VID0 pins are available for adaptive control between several of these common voltages. The SC196A is designed to operate in fixed-frequency PWM mode across the full load range. It can also be pin-activated to automatically place itself into power save operation (PFM mode) at light loads to maintain maximum efficiency. Device quiescent current in power save is only 17ľA and efficiency peaks at 93%.
The SC196A also provides a full suite of protection features such as over-current limit, thermal protection, over voltage protection and soft start operation (to limit in-rush currents). External circuitry is minimal - the minimum bill-of-materials (excluding the SC196A itself) is two capacitors and one inductor. Coupled with this minimal BOM, the SC196A's small outline package provides a very small solution capable of delivering up to 1.5A of load current.
The SC196A is packaged in a MLPD-3x3mm, 10 lead, Lead-free and RoHS compliant package and is now available in production quantities. Markets and applications for this product include mobile phones, PDAs, chipset manufacturers and general power rails.
Watch for the forthcoming SC196 device which shares all the base features of the SC196A but lacks the VID input pins - an external resistor/divider is used to set the output voltage from 1V to Vin. The SC196 is packaged in an ultra-thin 3x3mm package with 40% less height than the SC196A packaging.
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