Semtech Expands Buck Regulator Platform with World’s Smallest 1.8A Dual Point-of-Load Regulator

“No competitor even gets close to offering 1.8A in a dual buck regulator in this footprint,” said Alan Burchfield, Senior Product Marketing Manager for Semtech’s Power Management Group. “This amazingly small size is achieved without compromising performance. In fact, the SC283 offers very high efficiency, excellent transient response and the capability to perform dynamic voltage transitioning, giving designers an easy-to-use, green solution in an incredibly small footprint.”

The SC283 supports output currents up to 1.8A per channel, along with very high power conversion efficiency (up to 94%), low shutdown current (1µA typ.) and excellent transient response for fast system wake-up from low-power standby mode to full-power operation. This combination of ultra-small size, high efficiency and high performance makes it an ideal solution for powering a wide range of loads, including analog-to-digital converters, microcontrollers, DSPs and digital ASICs in networking, communications, consumer, industrial and office automation equipment, as well as solid-state drive applications.
The integrated VID pins enable designers to individually configure the output voltages of the two regulators by tying those pins either high or low. Each channel offers fifteen pre-determined output voltages via four control pins that are programmable from 0.8 to 3.3V. Additionally, the VID pins can be switched on-the-fly during operation to enable dynamic control of the output voltages for voltage scaling and power savings when driving some microprocessors or digital ASICs.

The SC283 offers full protection features, including internal soft start to minimize inrush current, input under-voltage lockout, output over-voltage and current-limit protection, and over-temperature protection.

The SC283 is packaged in a low-profile 18-pad, 2 x 3 x 0.8 mm MLPQ package with exposed thermal paddles for excellent heat sinking and is lead-free, halogen-free and fully RoHS compliant. For applications requiring just one regulator, the SC183C offers the same performance, with a single output.

Key Features of the SC283 Dual-Channel Synchronous Buck Regulator
• VIN: 2.9V to 5.5V; VOUT: pin-programmable 0.8V to 3.3V
• Up to 1.8A output current per channel
• Works with very small chip inductors for ultra-compact 111mm2 solution footprint
• 2.5MHz switching frequency
• Efficiency up to 94%
• Fast transient response
• Integrated VID pins provide independent control of the output voltages for each regulator and eliminate the need for external feedback resistors
• Fully protected
• Ultra-small, low-profile 18-pad MLPQ package – 2 x 3 x 0.8mm

The SC283 joins Semtech’s existing platform of point-of-load regulators, which cover a wide range of low output currents ranging from 500mA to 4A. This platform includes the SC173 (3A) and SC174 (4A) EcoSpeed™ regulators and the SC195 (500mA), SC202 (500mA), SC4626 (1A), SC189 (1.5A), SC183C (2A) and SC185 (4A) devices.