Build your own DC/DC power supplies with new chips and transformers. Control timing, protect circuits, and manage current. Find out more!
RECOM is coming out with a new range of Power ICs and SMD transformers that let customers build their own discrete DC/DC isolated power supplies. The range includes the RVP6501, a pin-compatible second-source alternative to the popular 6501-type push-pull transformer driver IC.
The RVP6501 operates from a 2.8V to 6V supply voltage and can withstand 10V transients without damage. It delivers 500mA across the entire input voltage range, exceeding the 6501-type specification of 300mA at 5V and 150mA at 3.3V. Like the 6501-type, it features break-before-make switching, but unlike the original, it detects gate drive voltages to adaptively adjust dead-time spacing, automatically compensating for thermal, load current, and ageing drift in the gate threshold voltage.
The IC also monitors transistor current to provide continuous short-circuit and overload protection. These two features—precise switch timing and over-current protection—help avoid flux imbalance and core saturation, common disadvantages of the push-pull topology.
The RVP6501 and the new RECOM Power ICs and SMD transformers target engineers and designers working in power electronics. Users can build discrete DC/DC isolated power supplies, replace 6501-type push-pull ICs as drop-in alternatives, achieve higher current output and wider input voltage range, ensure reliable operation with automatic dead-time adjustment, protect circuits with short-circuit and overload protection, and avoid issues like core saturation and flux imbalance in push-pull designs.
“For over 50 years, RECOM has been a technology leader in DC/DC modules, a position only maintained by a constant flow of new ideas and continual improvements in quality, reliability and performance. The RVP6501 is an improved version of the industry standard 6501-type transformer driver but at a significantly lower cost” comments Sven Krumpel, Project Manager IC & Solutions, RECOM.
