Step-Down Converter Offers Low Voltages

A step-down dc-to-dc converter with voltages of 3.3V, 2.5V and 1.8V, MAX1692 chip saves power often lost using low dropout linear regulators to lower the local supply voltage. The converter can generate supply voltages down to 1.25V with output currents of more than 600 mA. It requires no external FETs and comes in a tiny 10-pin µMAX package that is half the size of a standard 8-pin SO and only 1.1 mm high. Using an internal synchronous rectifier to eliminate an external Schottky diode and achieving efficiencies up to 95%, the step-down converter has a switching frequency of 750 kHz to permit use of very small inductors and fixed frequency operation.