Maxim's Buck Converters and Controllers Deliver Smallest, Most Efficient High-Voltage Automotive Power Solutions

Maxim MAX20004 MAX20006 MAX20008 MAX20034 MAX20098

MAX20004/6/8, MAX20034 and MAX20098 offer low quiescent current, improved noise performance and EMI mitigation for digital instrument clusters and radio head units

Maxim Integrated Products announced power-management ICs offering the industry’s smallest solution size and highest efficiency to help automotive designers meet space and power challenges of next-generation automotive applications. As digital instrument clusters, radio head units and electronic subsystems require ever higher levels of compute power, these new high-power buck converters and high-power, multiphase buck controllers empower designers to balance low power consumption with high efficiency and electromagnetic interference (EMI) mitigation.

Maxim - MAX20004, MAX20006, MAX20008, MAX20034, MAX20098

As automotive systems become more sophisticated with increasing levels of electronic components, higher power microprocessors are required to control and supervise their functionality. This adoption of more powerful instrument clusters, USB hubs, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and infotainment and navigation systems is driving 10 percent annual growth for power-management ICs through 2026, according to analyst firm IHS Markit. This growth pattern is presenting designers with multiple challenges for managing power consumption, efficiency, EMI and solution size to achieve the performance needed in harsh, space-constrained automotive operating environments.

To ensure designers meet these goals, Maxim’s array of automotive-grade ICs provide many options to manage the DC power as automotive OEMs transition from processors that consume 20 watts of power to artificial intelligence platforms that consume as much as 500 watts. With a package size of 3.5 mm × 3.75 mm, Maxim’s buck converters offer the industry’s smallest solution size. Their flip-chip quad-flat no-leads (FCQFN) packaging reduces high-frequency switch node ringing and eliminates bond wires to lower MOSFET switch on-resistance and increase efficiency.

Maxim offers the industry’s only pin-compatible parts for four, six and eight amps for flexible power regulation. All of the ICs feature spread-spectrum modulation, high switching frequency, forced pulse-width modulation and skip-mode operation for best-in-class performance.

Maxim’s newest automotive power-management ICs for high-voltage power applications include:

  • MAX20004, MAX20006 and MAX20008 4 A, 6 A and 8 A high-voltage (40 V tolerant) synchronous buck converters with integrated high-side and low-side MOSFETs, offering the industry’s lowest switch resistance of 38 and 18 mΩ, respectively, for high efficiency. Key advantages of these pin-compatible devices include 25 µA quiescent current, operating input voltages from 3.5 V to 36 V and 93 percent peak efficiency. All are available in a compact 3.5 mm × 3.75 mm, 17-pin side-wettable QFN package that reduces high-frequency switch node and improves efficiency.
     
  • MAX20098 220 kHz to 2.2 MHz synchronous buck controller for applications with mid- to high-power requirements operating with input voltages from 3.5 V to 36 V (42 V tolerant). For efficiency, this device features a quiescent current of 3.5 µA in skip mode at 3.3 V output along with a 1 µA typical shutdown current specification. Its 3 mm × 3 mm side-wettable QFN package reduces solution size, and the IC requires few external components, enabling a two-layer PCB design.
     
  • MAX20034 220 kHz to 2.2 MHz dual synchronous buck controller for high-voltage applications operating with input voltages from 3.5 V to 36 V (42 V tolerant), where one regulator will operate as a fixed 5 V or 3.3 V output and the other output is adjustable between 1 V to 10 V. Key efficiency advantages include 17 µA quiescent current in skip mode and 6.5 µA typical shutdown current. The device is available in a 5 mm × 5 mm side-wettable QFN package, and it provides up to 2.2 MHz switching frequency to enable smaller external components and total solution size.

Availability and Pricing

For availability and pricing information, please visit the individual product pages to inquire about specific products and evaluation kits.

EE-Sim® models are available.