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TI DC/DC delivers 500 mA from 0.6-mm profile

Thinnest step-down converter targets portable designs

Texas Instruments has announced a single-package step-down DC/DC converter that has a thickness (height) of 0.6 mm, and that can deliver up to 500 mA. Intended for densely-packed portable proiduct designs, the TPS62601 employs 6-MHz switching and occupies a chip-scale package that measures 0.9 x 1.3 mm. You can build a complete buck-converter function, TI says, in a board space of 13 mm2, adding the three passive components that the device requires; an input capacitor and an output capacitor/inductor filter. Conversion efficiency can be up to 89%, and quiescent current is 30 μA – a shutdown mode takes this to 1 μA. The TPS62601 can deliver DC voltage regulation accuracy of +/- 1.5%. Input voltage range is 2.3V to 5.5V, for an output of 1.8V: TI says the device also offers good load transient response, allowing you to add features to portable product designs while supplying them from an existing single voltage rail.
The synchronous step-down converter operates in pulse-width modulation (PWM) mode at moderate to heavy load currents, and at light load currents, it operates in power-save mode with pulse frequency modulation (PFM). It employs a frequency-locked ring oscillating modulator to achieve good load and line response. At the beginning of each switching cycle, its P-channel MOSFET switch is turned on and the inductor current ramps up, bringing up the output voltage until the main comparator trips, then the control logic turns off the switch. One key advantage, TI explains, of the non-linear architecture is that there is no traditional feed-back loop: the loop response to change in VO is essentially instantaneous.
The six-pin, wafer-scale-package part costs $1.45 (1000) and is sampling now; an evaluation module, TPS62601EVM-327 ($25) mounts the device on a small circuit board, in the recommended layout, with all pins brought out to terminations for easy connection and monitoring. See also power.ti.com