Low Dropout Regulator Can Be Directly Paralleled to Spread The Heat by Robert Dobkin

Introduction The 3-terminal adjustable linear regulator has been around since 1976, but since then, little has changed in its essential architecture. A 1.2V reference is boosted to generate a regulated output somewhere above a minimum 1.2V. What if, however, you throw away the voltage reference and replace it with a precision current source? The result is a giant leap forward in linear regulator capability, performance and versatility. The LT3080 is the first adjustable linear regulator to do just that. This deceptively simple architectural change allows this new regulator to be directly paralleled to spread the current load and thus spread dissipated heat among the ICs. Spreading the heat makes it possible to use linear regulators in high Low Dropout Regulator Can Be Directly Paralleled to Spread The Heat