Ricoh launches high performance Seamless LDO with low current consumption

Amstelveen, the Netherlands, 20 December 2017 - Ricoh Electronic Devices Company, Ltd. in Japan has launched the RP122 LDO Regulator, a remarkable Seamless LDO which addresses the typical issue of high performance LDOs with high current consumption at no load. The RP122 offers superb specifications whilst the current consumption at no load is kept to a very low level.

Electronics designers often struggle with the question which LDO type to select for the circuit; one option is an LDO with low current consumption but the performance like ripple rejection and transient response speed are not impressive for these products. Another option is a high performance LDO but these have a high level of internal current consumption even when the output current demand is low.

In 2005 Ricoh designed a smart solution called Seamless LDO technology. The RP122 features both LDO types and offers an impressive 90 dB ripple rejection, fast transient response speed and only 9.5 µA current consumption without output load. Additionally, it has a very low noise level at the output voltage, only 8 µVrms. These features are especially of an advantage for battery-powered devices with noise sensitive circuits such as smartphones, tablets, digital cameras, RF modules, AD and DA converters etc. The RP122 contributes to lower the total supply current of the device and increases the lifetime of the battery, also it eliminates the need to switch between operating modes since the LDO adapts seamlessly to the output current demand.

A number of protection circuits are integrated, a fold-back current limit circuit decreases the output current to approximately 70 mA in case of a short circuit, protecting the LDO and other electronic parts of the application for damage. The thermal protection shuts the LDO down when the junction temperature increases above 165°C. An inrush current limit circuit prevents any output overshoot and undershoot during the start-up period. The inrush period is internally fixed has a maximum of around 700 µs.

The RP122 has an optional auto-discharge function, this feature rapidly discharges the output capacitor once the chip is set to the standby mode. As for a stable operation small ceramic capacitors with a low ESR value and a minimum of 1.0µF can be used. The RP122 is available in a small sized 1.0 x 1.0 mm DFN(PLP)1010-4 and 0.64 x 0.64 mm WLCSP-4-P8 package.

Features RP122
Input Voltage Range	1.7 V to 5.25 V
Output Voltage Range	(in 0.1 V step) 1.2 V to 4.8 V
Output Current	400 mA
Supply Current	(at no load) Typ. 9.5 μA
Standby Current	0.01 µA
Output Noise	(Iout = 250 mA) Typ. 8 μVrms
Ripple Rejection	Typ. 90 dB / 85 dB / 65 dB @ resp. 1 / 10 / 100 kHz
Dropout Voltage	(Iout = 400 mA, Vset = 2.8 V, RP122K) Typ. 0.17 V
Protection Circuits	Over-Current, Short-Circuit, Thermal Shutdown
Inrush Current Limit	Typ. 250 mA
Inrush Current Limit Period	700 μs
Ceramic Capacitor	1.0 μF or more
Package	WLCSP-4-P8, DFN(PLP)1010-4