Harsh Environment DC/DC Converters Reduce Board Space
The 6.3-V, 6-A TPS50601 and the 6.3-V, 3-A TPS50301 from TI are synchronous step-down converters optimized for small form factor designs. They are purported as being the industry’s smallest monolithic point-of-load dc/dc converters for harsh environments, including radiation tolerant, geological, heavy industrial, and oil and gas applications. The devices’ current mode control, 100 kHz to 1 MHz switching frequency, and integration of the high- and low-side MOSFETs slash board space and reduce the size of equipment needed for tight spaces, such as down-hole drilling. The TPS50301 is qualified up to +210°C for high temperature applications, while the TPS50601 is qualified up to +125°C for harsh environments with QMLV/RHA qualifications pending. The TPS50601 and TPS50301 step-down converters are sampling now in a 20 pin thermally enhanced dual in-line ceramic flatpack. The TPS50601 is also supported by single- and dual-configured evaluation modules. Suggested retail prices for these EVMs are $499 for the single TPS50601SPEVM-S and $599 for the dual TPS50601SPEVM-D.