Ricoh launches 4A PWM step-down DCDC converter for industrial, automotive and consumer applications

Ricoh Europe (Netherlands) B.V. Semiconductor Support Centre has launched the new 4A synchronous buck DC/DC converter RP510 with an input voltage range up to 5.5V and an optional fixed or adjustable output voltage range from 0.8V to 3.3V. The DC/DC converter supports Power Supplies or Point of Load converters for Microprocessors, FPGAs or DSPs.

Point of Load power supplies solve the challenge of high peak current demands and low noise margins, required by high-performance processors, by placing individual power supply regulators close to their point of use.

The device features a range of protection circuits contributing to the safe operation of the application. A Power-Good (PG) output provides a fault signal to the system when the device is not ready for regular operation or when any of the protection circuits or states are active.

• An Under Voltage Lock Out (UVLO) function disables the chip below a minimum input voltage level.
• The Thermal Shutdown function protects the device during an overload condition and disables it when exceeding a temperature threshold.
• The Output Over Voltage Detection (OVD) and Under Voltage Detection (UVD) indicate a fault signal when the output voltage is 20% above or below the regular setting value.
• With the Over Current protection option, the designer can either select from a latched mode or fold-back version, depending on the application requirements. Latched over current protection shuts down the chip after detecting an excessive high load for a specified time and requires a reboot of the power supply to resume to normal operation after removing the excessive load. The fold-back protection circuit is triggered in a similar way but reduces the switching frequency in order to lower the excessive load current, the circuit will be released automatically after removing the excessive load.

The adjustable Soft Start Time provides a smooth output voltage ramp up, by using an external capacitor. The oscillator frequency is internally fixed at 2.3MHz and the RP510 requires a small inductor of 1mH. RP510 is available in a compact 3 x 3mm DFN3030-12 package, convenient to be used on high density boards.