How to Design a Complex Switching Regulator as Simple as a Linear Regulator

There is an alternative solution when deciding between a step-down switching regulator and a linear regulator. Switching regulators dissipate less heat than linear regulators especially when the input voltage is much higher than the output voltage or the output load current is relative high. On the other hand, linear regulators are very simple and don’t require inductors. What if there was a switching regulator circuit could be simplified and fitted inside a surface mount package and the complete solution became as simple as a regulator’s circuit? No inductors, no MOSFETs, no difficult calculations for compensation circuitry. On paper, it is a simple square box with a few resistors and capacitors. On a PCB, it is also a simple square box with a few resistors and capacitors.

Linear Technology’s DC/DC µModule® regulators are complete switching regulator systems that are housed in compact surfacemount LGA (land grid array) package. All the complexity is addressed inside the package. What a designer needs to do is to simply choose a resistor to set the output voltage. This innovative regulator solution, allows system designers to save precious engineering time by minimizing the task of devising point-of-load regulators and obtain a complete solution that is encapsulated in a package resembling a surfacemount IC.

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