Introduction to Power Management ICs

The selection and application of power management components are highly correlated with the power input and output conditions of the application itself.

Is the input power source AC or DC? Is the required output voltage higher or lower than the input voltage? What is the load current? Is the system very sensitive to noise? Perhaps the system requires a constant current instead of a regulated voltage (such as in LED applications)? Or does the system need a dynamically adjustable load current?

Designers must select the most appropriate power management components based on these specific application requirements.

Richtek provides comprehensive IC solutions, customized for you to address various challenges in power management design. The application scope includes desktop computer motherboards, mobile phones, digital cameras, network communication devices, backlight panels, laptops, LED lighting, and many industrial applications.

Richtek also has a very extensive product portfolio, including linear voltage regulators (LDOs), DC/DC converters and controllers, Vcore solutions, lighting solutions, display backlight solutions, network communication solutions, battery management, supervisors (Supervisor ICs), audio amplifiers, AC/DC flyback controllers, PMICs, power switch ICs, amplifiers, etc.

Figure 1: Richtek Power Management Chip Series (Directly Usable, RK-15)

Device Selection

Richtek offers a very complete product portfolio of linear voltage regulators (LDOs), DC/DC converters, and controllers. The following table shows the basic general rules for selecting an LDO or a DC/DC switching converter under normal circumstances.

First, it is necessary to determine the voltage difference between the input and output (VIN - VOUT).

Second, specific application requirements such as efficiency requirements, heat dissipation limitations, noise tolerance, system complexity, cost, and other conditions must also be considered to determine the most suitable power solution.

For more information about Richtek's chip products/solutions, please contact us.