MILPITAS, CA - February 8, 2011 - Linear Technology Corporation announces the LT3083, a 3A LDO that can be paralleled for heat spreading and higher output current, and is adjustable with a single resistor. This regulator is based on the same innovative architecture as its 1.1A predecessor, the LT3080, which uses a current source reference for single resistor output voltage setting. With the SET pins tied together, sharing the current and spreading the heat is accomplished between multiple regulators using a small length of PC trace as ballast, enabling multi-amp linear regulation in all surface-mount systems without heat sinks.
The LT3083 achieves unmatched regulation of under 2mV at any output voltage. Featuring wide input voltage range from 1.2V to 18V (DD-Pak and TO-220 packages), the full current dropout is only 310mV (when operating with a separate bias supply). The output voltage is programmable with a single resistor from 0V to 17.5V, and the on-chip trimmed 50µA current reference is trimmed to ±1%. The regulation and output noise (40µVrms) is independent of output voltage due to the device's voltage follower architecture. The high output current, wide VIN & VOUT capability, tight line and load regulation, high ripple rejection, low external parts count and paralleling capability make the LT3083 ideal for modern higher-current, multi-rail systems.
According to Robert Dobkin, Linear Technology's Vice President, Engineering and CTO, "The LT3083 regulator provides designers with an all-surface-mount solution for high current, low ripple applications such as FPGAs, data communications or serial links. The device's separate collector pin minimizes power dissipation when generating additional voltages in multi-rail power systems."
The LT3083 is offered in a variety of thermally enhanced surface-mount compatible packages, including a low profile (0.75mm) 12-lead 4mm x 4mm DFN and a 16-lead thermally enhanced TSSOP; both dissipate 2W in surface mount applications with no heat sink. The LT3083 is also available in 5-lead TO-220 and DD-Pak power packages for mounting to heat sinks for higher power dissipation. 1,000-piece pricing starts at $3.80, $4.40 and $10.26 for the DFN package in E, I and MP grades respectively, and at $3.93, $4.53 and $10.62 for the TSSOP package E, I and MP grades, respectively. 1k pricing for the TO-220 and DD-Pak power packages is at $4.13, $4.73 and $11.16 for the E, I and MP grades respectively.
