NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR ANNOUNCES INDUSTRY'S FIRST 3 AMP MONOLITHIC SYNCHRONOUS BATTERY SWITCHER WITH GREATER THAN 96% EFFICIENCY

New Highly Integrated Controller and MOSFET on a Single Chip Scheduled For High-Volume Production

September 26, 1996 - National Semiconductor Corporation® today announced a monolithic synchronous step-down switching regulator with 96.5% peak efficiency. Designed for portable systems, the LM2650 integrates a controller and a MOSFET on a single chip, with a 3A load range and other system-oriented functionality for easier, more compact design-ins.

"The battery-operated portable systems market requires high-efficiency switching regulators to extend battery life," explained Venkatesh Shan, National's power management marketing manager. "And with the tremendous growth in battery-powered systems, the LM2650 offers superior performance and occupies less board space, both of which are critical for space-conscious, battery-operated portable designs.

"Compared to competing products that use a three-chip approach, the full- featured LM2650 offers the best combination of performance, efficiency, functionality and cost," Shan added. "It provides all the active functions necessary to perform an efficient step-down dc-to-dc conversion over a wide 15mA to 3A load range."

The new device was developed using National's LMDMOS 300B process technology that allows the integration of a controller and a MOSFET on the same die. Its unique design eliminates the need for a current sense resistor, a Schottky diode and several ESR (Equivalent Series Resistance) capacitors, saving both cost and board space.

The LM2650 accepts 4V to 18V inputs, offers adjustable 1.23V to 16V outputs. It generates 96.5% peak efficiency and more than 90% typical efficiency over the 15mA to 3A load range. The device also features an automatic sleep mode that maintains high efficiencies even under light load conditions. Key on-chip protection features include thermal shutdown, current limiting and programmable Soft Start.

Applications include battery-powered designs that perform step-down conversion, such as portable personal systems, hand-held instruments, portable data terminals and high-efficiency network appliances.

Price and Availability
Available now in volume, the LM2650 is priced at $4.38 (1000-units) in an SO-24 package.

National Semiconductor Corporation® provides Technologies for Moving and Shaping Information®. The company focuses on four strategic markets: communications, personal systems, industrial and consumer. Headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., National has 19,000 employees worldwide and reported sales of $2.6 billion in fiscal 1996.