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Linear regulators

Poor efficiency is a well-known problem when using linear regulators. Analogue linear regulation causes energy losses in heat at large differences between input and output voltage and moderate levels of current that are so high that heat sinks are an absolute necessity. Linear regulators are just as unsuitable for applications using battery power as they are for applications where lack of space does not allow for the use of a heat sink. Applications such as these are beyond limits for linear regulators, and have to be left to voltage regulators such as the new RECOM R-78xx series.

In contrast to linear regulators, these voltage regulators reach efficiency levels of up to 97% at ripple-and-noise levels of around 20-30 mV without any external connections. These voltage regulators have the same pinout as the familiar 78xx linear regulator and a housing design that is not much larger than the TO-220 housing often used for linear regulators.

At output voltages of 1.8V to 15V at a maximum current output of 500mV or 1.8V to 5V output on 1A models, these voltage regulators are designed for use without heat sinks - which would be unthinkable in linear regulators.

Obviously, the price for voltage regulators of this type cannot compare to the price of a linear regulator; however, the material and manufacturing costs incurred when fitting a linear regulator complete with heat sink insulated against other components do not arise with a voltage regulator of this type, costs that can rapidly add up to the supposed savings in purchasing a linear regulator alone.

To be sure, these voltage regulators will not be able to drive linear regulators from the market; this is also not the intention. They are simply intended as an alternative available to the developer as an approach to application issues that linear regulators would not satisfy, or where using linear regulators would take in inordinate amount of effort to reach a satisfactory result.