EL SEGUNDO, Calif., 27 June 2009. International Rectifier, a provider of power management technology, has introduced the IR3640M PWM control IC for high-performance synchronous DC-DC buck applications, including servers, storage, netcom, game consoles, and general-purpose DC-DC converters.

The IR3640M is a single-phase synchronous buck PWM controller with integrated MOSFET drivers and bootstrap diode. The device's single loop voltage mode architecture simplifies design, while delivering precise output voltage regulation and fast transient response.

"The IR3640M is a feature-rich controller that may be paired with IR's DirectFET MOSFETs to deliver a flexible, efficient solution and, because of its wide input and output voltage range, can be used in a variety of high-performance point-of-load applications," says John Lambert, IR's POL products marketing manager, Enterprise Power Business Unit.

"Moreover, the IR3640M allows designers who use IR's SupIRBuck integrated voltage regulators for loads lower than 12A to solve their current needs in the 12 to 30A range, as the IC employs the same control engine, monitoring and reporting as the newly established SupIRBuck industry standard," Lambert adds.

The IR3640M is designed to drive a pair of N-Channel MOSFETs from 250kHz to 1.5MHz switching frequency, providing designers with the flexibility to optimize the solution for best efficiency or smallest footprint.

The new device integrates a range of features including programmable soft start, pre-bias start up, voltage tracking, external synchronization, enable input, and Power Good output. Fault protection features include thermal shutdown, over-voltage and over-current shutdown, and under-voltage lock out. The device is offered lead-free and is RoHS-compliant.

Pricing for the IR3640MPbF begins at $0.44 each in 10,000-unit quantities. The IRDC3640 reference design kit costs $94 per kit.