New Industry Products

Micrel Expands MIC2010 Series of USB Power Switch ICs

November 26, 2000 by Jeff Shepard

Micrel Semiconductor (San Jose, CA) has expanded their MIC2010 Series to include Universal Serial Bus (USB) power switch ICs. The new devices in the MIC2010 series include four dual-channel protected MOSFET switches optimized for USB wake-up capabilities supported by Micrel's Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) wake-up capabilities for desktop PCs.

When the PC is active, these devices are designed to guarantee 500mA continuous output current per channel as required by the USB. When the PC is placed in the ACPI S3 sleep state, the outputs are switched to the 5V standby supply available in ATX-style power supplies. In this state, the continuous output current is reduced to 100mA, or to a user-adjustable value. This reduction protects the smaller current capacity of the standby supply in case of short-circuit faults. When the PC is returned to the active S0 state, the outputs are switched to the 5V main supply. Make-before-break switching action helps ensure glitch-free outputs during transitions between main and standby states.

The four new devices include the MIC2010, MIC2012, MIC2070 and MIC2072. TheMIC2010 offers adjustable auxiliary current-limiting for more precise control, while the MIC2012 has pre-set current-limits for the auxiliary mode. The MIC2070 and MIC2072 provide a circuit breaker function that latches the output(s) off when an over-current condition is detected, reducing power consumption during a fault.

Kris Jones, product marketing manager, commented, “Micrel's latest family of USB power switches simplifies the development of an ACPI compliant PC by integrating the logic needed to wake the PC from a USB peripheral via the ACPI S3 sleep state, providing a robust and cost effective solution."

The new devices are packaged in 16-pin QSOP packages and in 8-pin SOIC packages. They are priced between $1.66 and $2.04 when purchased in 1,000-piece quantities. Samples of selected options are available now from stock.