New Industry Products

Apex Microtechnology Announces PA34 and PA35 Hybrid Power Amplifiers

June 25, 2001 by Jeff Shepard

Apex Microtechnology (Tucson, AZ) announced its new PA35 and PA34 hybrid power amplifiers targeted at motor-drive applications. The amplifiers use a TO-220 package that requires 66 percent less board space than Apex’s own PowerSIP. The PA35 is a monolithic 1.7A power amplifier, configured with a voltage follower to generate up to 3.4A of output current. The PA35 operates on 5V to 40V single-supplies, and +/-2.5V to +/-20V split supplies. An extended common-mode range includes the negative rail.

The PA34 uses the same monolithic die as the PA35 in a TO-220 package, but the device is internally configured as a 2.5A power amplifier with current sense and Vboost. Both the PA34 and PA35 are claimed to offer high efficiency due to an output swing that drives within 2.8V and 1.4V of supply, respectively. Both amplifier modules operate off total supply voltages as low as 5V, making the devices suitable for use as high-current drivers for single-supply 12V and 28V motor applications. Other key features of both devices include internal current-limit circuitry.