DC/DC Converters for Portable Designs

TI’s 300-mA, 600-mA and 1-A synchronous, step-down DC/DC converters can efficiently regulate output voltages down to 0.6 V with +/-1.5 percent accuracy, enabling the devices to power TI’s newest C5000 and DaVinci™ DSPs, low-power MSP430 microcontrollers and other controllers with ultra-precise processor core supply requirements.

The TPS62290 provides up to 1 A of output current, and can be powered by a single-cell lithium-ion (Li-Ion), three-cell nickel metal hydride (NiMH) and three-cell alkaline batteries with an input voltage range of 2.3 V to 6 V. The converter, which operates at a low 15 µA quiescent current, enters a power save mode during light load operating conditions and maintains efficiency up to 95 percent over the entire load current range. For low-noise applications, the device can be forced into fixed frequency pulse width modulation (PWM) mode by pulling the MODE pin high. In the shutdown mode, the TPS62290’s current consumption is reduced to less than 1 µA.

TI also introduced the TPS62260, which supports up to 600-mA of output current, and the TPS62240 to support up to 300-mA. Both devices contain the same functionality and high-performance as the TPS62290 but can support a slightly wider input voltage range of 2 V to 6 V.

Combining the tiny 6-pin, 2 mm x 2 mm SON package with a maximum height of 0.8 mm and a frequency of 2.25 MHz, allows the TPS62290, TPS62260 and TPS62240 devices to save designers valuable board space in space-constrained battery power applications. For example, the TPS62260 can achieve a total solution size of 21.5 mm2 by adding only three additional components, including a tiny 2.2 µH inductor and a 4.7-µF input capacitor and an inexpensive 10-µF output capacitor.

All three converters are shipping in volume from TI and its authorized distributors. Suggested retail pricing for the TPS62240 is $0.95 in 1,000-piece quantities. The TPS62260 is priced at $1.20 and the TPS62290 is available at $1.75 in 1,000-piece quantities.