Micrel, Inc. (Micrel) has launched a new HyperLight Load regulatot, MIC23150, to the popular HyperLight Load family of synchronous step-down regulators. The patented architecture implemented in the MIC23150 delivers extremely high efficiency light load for portable products and green home/office appliances. The MIC23150 features internal MOSFETs able to deliver up to 1.5 Amps output current while consuming just 23 Micro Amps of quiescent current inside a tiny 2mm x 2mm Thin MLF package.

As with many other members of the HyperLight Load family of step-down regulators, the MIC23150 achieves up to 93% peak efficiency and an impressive 87% efficiency under a 1mili Amp load. The MIC23150 is available in fixed output options of 1.0V, 1.2V, 1.8V, and 3.3V with pricing starting at $1.00 for 1K quantities.

The MIC23150 surpasses the competition by offering the industry’s best-in-class combination of efficiency, size and transient response, noted Andy Khayat, Micrel’s director of marketing for portable products. While portable system designers continue their quest to extend battery life, many home and office product designers must now be concerned with light load efficiency in order to meet the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) ‘1-Watt Plan.’ Micrel’s patented HyperLight LoadTM architecture provides very high efficiency, coupled with low power consumption, to address the rigorous needs of the industry’s latest green home/office appliances and handheld products.

With billions of consumer electronics and office products sold every year and energy conservation a worldwide concern, it was inevitable that the next generation of ICs needed to offer a breakthrough approach to saving power. Micrel’s Green initiative involves all aspects of design, engineering, marketing and other disciplines to bring to market exceptional and innovative methods for saving power, including the Company’s innovative HyperLight LoadTM product family.

The MIC23150 operates at 4MHz and requires just three external components for a complete solution just 1mm in height. Featuring an operating input supply range from 2.7V to 5.5V, both regulators are suitable for applications powered by single cell Li-Ion battery, 3.3VDC or 5VDC power source. Output accuracy is an impressive +/- 2.5 percent over the operating junction temperature range of -40°C to +125°C. Internal protection features include under voltage lockout, current limit and thermal shutdown.