MAX8649 1.8A DC-to-DC step-down switching regulator

Maxim Semiconductor introduced the MAX8649 high-efficiency DC-to-DC step-down switching regulator which delivers up to 1.8A of output current and operate from a 2.5V to 5.5V input voltage range .

The output voltage of MAX8649 is I2C programmable from 0.75V to 1.38V . The high operating frequency fixed at  a 3.25MHz  fixed frequency minimizes the size of external components.

Using the on chip DAC allows adjustment of the output voltage in 10mV steps.

The MAX8649 require few external components and include many features like : 1.8A Guaranteed Output Current , I2C Programmable VOUT (750mV to 1.38V in 10mV Steps) ,  2.5V to 5.5V Input Supply , On-Chip FET and Synchronous Rectifier , Fixed 3.25MHz PWM Switching Frequency , Synchronizes to 13MHz 19.2MHz  or 26MHz System Clock when Available , Small 1.0μH Inductor , Power-Save Mode Increases Light Load Efficiency , Overvoltage and Overcurrent Protection, Thermal Shutdown Protection , 400kHz I2C Interface and many others which make it ideal for portable applications like : Cell Phones , Smartphones ,PDAs , MP3 Players or other devices .

The output voltage is dynamically adjusted using the VID0 and VID1 logic inputs which allow selection between four predefined operation modes/voltage  configurations with three programmable parameters:

• Output voltage from 0.75V to 1.38V in 10mV steps

• Mode of operation: Forced PWM or power save

• Enable/disable of synchronization of switching frequency to external clock source

For more details about the configuration and how to use it consult the datasheet .