
ST has brought out a 1A buck converter for low-voltage loads in smart meters, home appliances and industrial converters
The’ DCP3601 miniature monolithic buck converter is claimed to have over 90% efficiency.
The power switches and compensation are built-in, requiring only six components to complete the circuit, including the inductor, bootstrap and filter capacitors, and feedback resistors for setting the output voltage.
With its 3.3V-to-36V input voltage range and 1A output capability, the DCP3601 can power low-voltage loads in applications such as smart meters, domestic appliances, and industrial 24V conversion.
Synchronous rectification and a fixed switching frequency of 1MHz ensure efficiency across the load range and under all operating conditions, reaching 91% at 600mA with 12V input and 5V output.
Flexibility comes from the selection of different variants, offering the choice of forced-PWM operation for noise-sensitive applications or pulse-skipping at light load for minimal power consumption.
Additionally, both the low-noise and low-consumption variants are available with frequency dithering to reduce noise power at the 1MHz switching frequency.
All variants have quiescent current of 110µA and an Enable pin that allows turning off the converter with a dedicated signal to maximise power savings.
There is a dedicated evaluation board – STEVAL-3601CV1 – which comes with screw terminals and headers and is ready to power-up out of the box.
First in the new buck-converter product family that will expand throughout the year, the DCP3601 is included in ST’s 10-year longevity program that ensures long-term access to components and support.
Packaged as a 3mm x 1.6mm SOT23 6-lead device, the single-chip buck converter is priced from $0.48 for orders of 1000 pieces.
For more: www.st.com/dcp360