How to select a space-grade switching regulator

Focus:

In this short article, a user of space-grade switching regulators offers his guidelines on how to select them. This article discusses regulator specifications and features you’ll need to consider, but also gives a table of key electrical specs and packaging for the relatively modest number of space-grade point-of-load regulators (POLs) that are on the market (without naming vendors or part numbers.) There’s also a nice chart showing the different packaging options. Both the table and chart tie in with the discussion on how the various regulators differ including the different levels of integration, power ratings and pin counts. The prevalence of current-mode over voltage-mode control and its implications are touched on. Naturally, radiation hardness is a key issue and the author offers guidance on what to look for in rad hard specs, which may not be fully specified in the data sheet.

What you’ll learn:

• How to select a point-of-load regulator for space applications
• How to understand the range of electrical specs, levels of integration, and packaging options that are available among space-qualified switching regulators

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Author & Publication:

Rajan Bedi, EDN, Dec 08 2016

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