LDO voltage regulators allow low power consumption and high efficiency of battery-powered devices

Toshiba announces the introduction of the TCR3DMxxA and TCR3EMxxA series of general-purpose, single-output voltage regulators with an on/off control input, featuring a low dropout voltage and fast transient response.

Both series are housed in the ultra-small DFN4D package (1.0mm x 1.0mm x 0.37mm), which enables the use of small ceramic input and output capacitors (≥1.0µF). This makes them suitable for industrial applications or battery-powered systems requiring high-density board assembly. Moreover, the devices provide a control pin threshold voltage (VCTH) of 0.8V (min) and support 1.2V I/Os, helping to extend the device’s battery life.

The TCR3DMxxA series operates over a wide input voltage of 1.5V to 5.5V. The devices are available in fixed output voltages between 1.0V and 4.5V (±1%) and can drive up to 300mA. Within the series, the dropout voltage is 216mV (typ.) with a low output noise voltage of 38µVRMS, and the ripple rejection ratio is 72dB (typ.). This enables the devices to maintain the output voltage even when the battery voltage drops. In addition, since a large current output is possible at a low input voltage, devices in the TCR3DMxxA series achieve low power consumption and high power supply efficiency. The quiescent current is 86µA (typ.) and the standby current is 0.1µA, both maximise battery life.

The TCR3EMxxA series of LDO regulators operate over a wide 1.3 to 5.5V input voltage range. The devices have fixed output voltages between 0.8V and 5.0V (±1%) and can drive up to 300mA. Compared to the TCR3DMxxA series, the typical dropout voltage is much lower at 160mV (2.5V/150mA) with a low output noise voltage of 50µVRMS, and the ripple rejection ratio is 68dB (typ.). The ultra-low quiescent current is 35µA (typ.) and the standby current is 0.1µA for even longer battery life.

Both the TCR3DMxxA and TCR3EMxxA series feature overcurrent protection, thermal shutdown, an inrush current protection circuit, and an auto-discharge function to protect the power supply circuit. A reference design is available using the TCR3DMxxA and TCR3EMxxA series LDO regulators for a power supply circuit application.