Buck Controller Provides Precision Current Balancing

The LTC3732 buck controller employs a true current mode architecture to provide output currents up to 60A while maintaining current balancing between three output power stages to within 5%. This is said to allow a given power supply to have precision current sharing between the output stages for improved thermal performance and reliability. Offered as a three-phase, five-bit VID 600 kHz step-down switching regulator, the device drives external n-channel power MOSFET stages in a phase-lockable, fixed frequency architecture. With an integrated, five-bit VID d/a converter, output voltages of 1.075V to 1.85V are programmable in 25 mV increments. A differential amplifier provides true remote sensing of both the high and low side of the output voltage at load points, enabling a 1% output voltage accuracy. Housed in a 36-pin SSOP, price starts at $4.35 each/1,000. LINEAR TECHNOLOGY CORP., Milpitas, CA. (800) 454-6327.