New Industry Products

STMicroelectronics Launches L5970 Switching Regulator

February 28, 2001 by Jeff Shepard

STMicroelectronics (Geneva) launched the new L5970 single-chip step-down switching regulator, which delivers 1A at 0.5V to 35V in an SO8 package with few external components. Designed for distributed supply applications, the L5970 operates on input voltages from 4.4V to 36V, and is compatible with standard 5V bus systems.

As an on-chip P-channel MOS power transistor, the L5970 allows conduction losses to be optimized even in applications where the duty cycle can exceed 95 percent. In addition, no bootstrap capacitor is required. The regulator keeps the quiescent current below 2.5mA and standby current consumption in the range of 50uA. Its high switching frequency is internally set at 250kHz. Higher switching frequencies can be

obtained using external synchronization.

The device features a frequency fold-back function to prevent output overshoot during startup and limit the current to a constant value during short circuit conditions. Other functions included in the device are an inhibit function, a precise voltage reference, thermal shutdown and a

synchronization pin that allows up to six devices to be synchronized.