DACs prolong battery life in portable applications

The MAX5214 (14-bit) and MAX5216 (16-bit) digital-to-analogue converters offer power consumption of less than 80uA IQ and prolong battery life in portable applications.

High accuracy, a small package size and the low current consumption make these devices equally suitable for two-wire sensors where low current levels must be measured and power efficiency is important.

While the MAX5214/MAX5216 single-channel DACs already have low power consumption, programmability adds flexibility and efficiency to power usage.

Power consumption can be reduced further by writing the power-down sequence into the device registers.

This makes the devices applicable for systems with limited power budgets, such as portable glucose meters.

In these cases, the devices can be powered on to perform the required tasks with 80uA of current consumption in operation mode and then powered down to reduce the electrical current consumption to 0.4uA.

Additionally, on power-up, the MAX5214/MAX5216 reset the DAC output to zero, providing extra safety for applications that drive valves or other transducers that need to be off on power-up.

The MAX5214 and MAX5216 provide +/-0.25 and +/-1 LSB of integral nonlinearity (INL), respectively, over their resolution spectrum.

They are suitable for high-performance systems executing repetitive tasks in numerous counts that demand the same high precision and accuracy each time - motor controllers in robotic applications are a typical example.

The MAX5214/MAX5216 integrate an internal buffer, which reduces the number of external components needed in the system design and the total space required on the PCB.

The MAX5214/MAX5216 operate efficiently in industrial environments from -40 to 105C.

Both devices are offered in a compact eight-pin uMAX package.

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