New Devices Contribute to Cost Reduction, Miniaturization, and Power Savings by Integrating a Switching Regulator and an LDO in a Single Package and Providing On-Chip Ultralow Power Modes

October 18, 2012

TOKYO, Japan, October 18, 2012 — Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE:6723), a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced the release of the RAA23021X Series of two output channel power supply ICs that provide functions such as stepping down the voltage supplied to a microcontroller (MCU) and its peripheral devices (e.g. from 5.0 V to 3.3 V) and controlling the power supply in standby mode. These products are optimal for use in industrial, office automation, consumer, and network equipment.

Recently, the demands for miniaturization and lower power consumption in electronic equipment have been increasing. However, often, system manufacturers construct the necessary power rails from single-output voltage regulator ICs and electronic components and thus find it difficult to achieve the required miniaturization. Furthermore, even though MCU standby mode and low power modes are an effective method to reduce and align power requirements to frequently changing system requirements, generally the power supply system hasn't been designed to also provide this support.

Therefore Renesas is now releasing the RAA23021X Series of power supply ICs that both reduce MCU power supply system parts counts and also significantly reduce standby mode power consumption.

Key Features of the RAA23021X Series of Power Supply ICs:

(1) Power supply system miniaturization and lower costs achieved by integration of a switching regulator and a Low-Drop-Out regulator (LDO) in the same package

These new products integrate, in a single package, the step-down switching regulator and LDO required in a step-down circuit as well as phase compensation components, and discharge circuits. As a result, compared to earlier Renesas products, the number of components in an MCU power supply system can be reduced by 50 percent, thus allowing significant cost reductions and miniaturization in application systems.

(2) Substantial power reductions in standby mode

These new products provide an ultralow power consumption mode that reduces their own power consumption to 25 μA during standby power saving states such as the deep software standby mode provided by Renesas MCUs. This allows total power consumption during standby mode for the MCU and power supply IC system to be reduced by over 90% compared to similar systems using earlier Renesas products.

(3) Improved usability with on-chip sequencing function and protection functions

These new products allow one of three pattern sequences to be selected easily with pin settings to support configurations of power-on sequence of the devices used in the application system. In addition, these products provide various protection circuits, including overcurrent protection, thermal protection, and low-voltage malfunction protection functions. Thus high-reliability power supply systems can be constructed easily with a minimum number of external components.

(4) Extensive set of development tools available

To support the development of system power supply designs, Renesas provides not only evaluation boards for these new products independently, but also evaluation boards that include both these new products and Renesas MCUs. Renesas also provides a variety of information on the Renesas web site, including circuit diagrams, product recommendations, and board patterns. Users can easily acquire information such as previous evaluations that combine an MCU with these products and board patterns, which can result in significantly shorter evaluation and development periods.

RAA23021X Series consists of four products with fixed output voltages (1.8, 2.7, 3.0, and 3.3 V) and one with a variable output voltage for a total of five products. The maximum output current for the switching regulator is 3 A and that for the LDO is 0.5 A so that these products can provide power supply to an MCU as well as its peripheral devices. These products are provided in a high thermal dissipation 20-pin HTSSOP package. The die pad, which takes up most of the rear surface of the package, allows high thermal dissipation mounting.

In addition to this series, Renesas is currently developing the RAA23022X Series, which integrates functions for switching over to battery backup if power fails. Renesas is committed to expanding this product line, including products with 4 output channels.

Refer to the separate sheet for the main specifications of the RAA23021X Series of power supply ICs.

Pricing and Availability

Samples of the RAA23021X Series of power supply ICs are scheduled to be available now, priced at US$0.95 per unit. Mass production of the RAA23021X Series is scheduled to begin in February 2013 and is expected to reach a scale of 1,000,000 units per month in October 2013.

Samples of the RAA23022X Series of power supply ICs are scheduled to be available on December 2012. (Pricing and availability are subject to change without notice.)

(Remarks)
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About Renesas Electronics Corporation

Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723) delivers trusted embedded design innovation with complete semiconductor solutions that enable billions of connected, intelligent devices to enhance the way people work and live. A global leader in microcontrollers, analog, power and SoC products, Renesas provides comprehensive solutions for a broad range of automotive, industrial, infrastructure, and IoT applications that help shape a limitless future. Learn more at renesas.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.


The content in the press release, including, but not limited to, product prices and specifications, is based on the information as of the date indicated on the document, but may be subject to change without prior notice.

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