Op amp extends battery life by consuming less than 560 nanowatts

Santa Clara, Calif.— National Semiconductor Corp.'s latest nanopower operational amplifier (op amp) provides what it claims is the industry's lowest power consumption at 552 nanowatts (nW), with guaranteed operation down to 1.6V.

The PowerWise LPV521 extends battery life in portable equipment and low power applications, including wireless remote sensors, power-line monitoring, and micropower oxygen and gas sensors.

The LPV521 features a supply voltage range from 1.6V to 5.5V with a maximum supply current of 0.4 µA. Its wide-input common-mode voltage range accepts input signals 100 mV beyond each rail, enabling direct connection to several sensor types. In addition, the LPV521's maximum 1 mV input offset voltage (Vos) and 3.5 µV per degree C of input offset voltage drift (TCVos) enable accurate and stable measurement for both high-side and low-side current sensing.

The LPV521 is equipped with electromagnetic interference (EMI) suppression filters to reduce unwanted radio frequency (RF) interference from external sources. This interference is emitted from a myriad of wireless devices such as cell phones, motion sensors and RFID readers.

The LPV521 is built on National's proprietary VIP50 BiCMOS process technology, which enables optimal performance while maximizing power efficiency. The op amp offers a power-to-performance ratio of 65 µA per MHz.

Pricing: 65 cents each in 1,000-unit quantities.
Availability: Now.
Datasheet: click here.

National Semiconductor, www.national.com