Nowadays power and communication applications require regulators that produce extremely low output noise and very low dropout voltage (LDO). For example, a typical application such as generating 3.3 V from a 3.6 V li-ion battery requires a LDO not bigger than 300 mV. If the regulator is to be used in communication or data systems, a very low output noise is a must.
Circuit diagram of the MAX38902X regulator. Source Maxim
The recently introduced Maxim Integrated series MAX38902A/B/C/D produce no more than 12uVRMS output noise from 10 Hz to 100 kHz signals and require a maximum LDO of only 100 mV. With an input voltage range of 1.7 to 5.5 V they can generate a range of regulated output voltages of 06 V to 5.3 V. Other key specifications include:
- 70dB power supply rejection ratio (PSRR) at 10kHz
- 500mA maximum output current
- ±1% DC accuracy over load, line, and temperature
- 100mV (max) dropout at 500mA load (3.6VIN)
