It’s no secret that the industrial market is going increasingly digital, thanks to phenomena/standards like Industrial IoT (IIoT) and Industry 4.0. Thankfully, safety and reliability and improving simultaneously. One building block in that “new world order” comes form Maxim with the introduction of the MAX17572 and MAX17574 Himalaya family of synchronous step-down DC-DC converters. According to the company, these efficient converters provide a 40% reduction in power dissipation and shrink solution size by 50% compared to competitive solutions. In addition, the parts deliver high efficiency—better than 90% across 50% to 100% of the load current.

Systems can operate AT 4.5 to 60 V using the new DC-DC converters, while still complying with the IEC 61508 safety standard. The converters guarantee 1- and 3-A operation (with a 5-V output) and are suited for such high-voltage industrial applications as sensors, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), industrial controls, distributed supply regulation, and factory/building/power grid automation. They’re also applicable for battery back-up, Power-over-Ethernet (PoE), and data centers. Operating over the -40°C to +125°C temperature range, the MAX17572 is available in a 12-pin, 3- by 3-mm thin-DFN (TDFN) package for $1.83 in lots of 1000. The MAX17574 is available in a 24-pin, 4- by 5-mm TQFN package for $2.19, in similar quantities. Evaluation kits are available for each of the devices.