Microchip debuts low-power, high-precision op amps

CHANDLER, USA: Microchip Technology Inc. has announced three new families of low-power, high-precision operational amplifiers (op amps); meaning the Company now has an extensive offering of high precision Op Amps with Gain Bandwidth Product (GBWP) from 10 kHz to 50 MHz.

The MCP6051/2/4 (MCP605X), MCP6061/2/4 (MCP606X) and MCP6071/2/4 (MCP607X) op amps feature offset voltages of just 150 microvolts and are well suited for applications requiring low power consumption, low-voltage operation and high precision, such as those in the industrial, medical, consumer and other markets.

Developed in response to market demands for op amps providing low power and lower offset voltages, the MCP605X/6X/7X op amps are trimmed in-package to enable their low offset voltage, which results in reduced error at high gains.

The devices feature operating voltage from 1.8V to 6.0V, making them ideal for portable applications; and their rail-to-rail input and output provides greater dynamic range, even at lower operating voltages. Additionally, they are unity-gain stable and operate over the extended temperature range of – 40 to 125 degrees Celsius.

“Microchip has again leveraged its low-power, CMOS technology to provide additional families of industry-leading op amps, with the MCP605X/6X/7X devices,” said Bryan Liddiard, vice president of Microchip’s Analog and Interface Products Division. “These new devices lead the industry with their combination of low power consumption and low offset performance, and are expected to enable new markets for Microchip in portable instrumentation.”

Device-specific features
The MCP605X op amps have a GBWP of 385 kHz and a quiescent current of 30 microamperes. The MCP606X op amps have a GBWP of 730 kHz and a quiescent current of 60 microamperes. The MCP607X op amps have a GBWP of 1.2 MHz and a quiescent current of 110 microamperes.

All of the op amps are well suited for applications requiring low power consumption, low-voltage operation and high precision, such as portable instrumentation devices used in the industrial (portable gas detectors, pressure-monitoring devices, toll-booth tags, digital multimeters, RFID readers, bar-code scanners); medical (blood glucose meters, wearable heart-rate monitors and body-temperature measurement sensors); and consumer (gaming consoles, set-top boxes and portable audio players) markets.

Development support
PCB footprints and schematic symbols are expected to be available in August 2009 from Microchip’s Web site at http://www.microchip.com/cad. The downloads will be available in a neutral format that can be exported to the leading EDA CAD/CAE design tools using the Ultra Librarian Reader from Accelerated Designs Inc.