Micrel has added to its family of high-current protected power switches. The MIC2014/15/16 chips, featuring Kickstart current limiting, bring a new level of adaptability to peripheral power management. The chips are part of the recently introduced family of MIC20xx power distribution switches.
The new product line is aimed at applications requiring current limiting as protection against short circuits, including PCs, set-top-boxes, game controllers and USB host devices. The MIC2014/15/16 are currently available in volume quantities and in SOT-23s and 2-mm × 2-mm MLFs. In quantities of 1000, pricing starts at $0.75 for the SOT-23 version and $0.85 for the MLF.
The MIC2014/15/16 all feature Kickstart current limiting. The ICs offer 70-mΩ typical on-resistance, fault flagging and slew rate control. In addition, these ICs are capable of serving multiple (USB) ports to provide both cost and space savings. Standard features include a 2.5-V to 5.5-V operating range, output enable control input, thermal protection, undervoltage lockout, low quiescent current, and fault masking that prevents nuisance alarms on current surges or hot plug events.
