Power supply designers for server, tablet, notebook, telecom, gaming and general purpose point of load (POL) regulation applications are constantly looking for ways to improve efficiency in their designs in order to meet energy standards, extend battery life and reduce total cost of ownership. To help designers meet this challenge, Fairchild Semiconductor developed the next generation TinyBuck regulator family, consisting of integrated POL regulators that incorporate a constant on-time PWM controller and driver with high-side and low-side MOSFETs.

The FAN23xx family enables end-user applications to achieve significantly higher efficiency over a very wide load range. This is achieved through multiple optimizations including:

• Fine tuned gate drive circuitry with optimized gate drive current and dead times for each specific part number giving two percent higher peak efficiency compared to competitive solutions.
• Constant on-time architecture with pulse frequency modulation (PFM) for highest light load efficiencies.

Additional optimizations help to improve thermal performance and system robustness:

• Reduced switch node ringing and optimized wide duty cycle achieved by leveraging Fairchild’s PowerTrench® MOSFETs with Shielded Gate technology.
• Advanced packaging technology to minimize parasitic inductance and resistance, achieving superior thermal performance.

TinyBuck regulators have the capability of running up to a 1.5MHz switching frequency, enabling customers to achieve high efficiency while reducing the number of inductor and capacitor (LC) components needed. Devices in the family can achieve the same efficiency as equivalent discrete solutions running at half the switching frequency.

The FAN2306, for example, can deliver 92.5 percent efficiency at full load, 12V input, 1.2V output @ 500KHz switching frequency while using a 1.2µH inductor. The same device can be used at the same duty cycle, @ 1Mhz, and achieve 90% efficiency using 0.56µH inductor. A single footprint for the 6A, 10A and 15A devices provides flexibility, allowing designers to scale the current level of their system without changing their board layout.

Additionally, the next generation TinyBuck regulator family is supported by an online design tool providing designers a simple, easy-to-use tool that enhances their design and improves time to market.

Fairchild Semiconductor
www.fairchildsemi.com