13 February 2006 -- Catalyst Semiconductor has expanded its DPP family of digital programmable potentiometers with the introduction of its first DPP to be designed for applications requiring up to 15V on the potentiometer terminals. Specifically targeted at calibration functions in high voltage environments, the CAT5132 has a separate input for an analogue supply which provides the high voltage bias for the potentiometer terminals. The CAT5132 is controlled via a two-wire, I2C compatible bus interface, which enables adjustment of the 128 (or 7bit) wiper positions with or without saving the current position in an EEPROM.
Other features include: less than 15uA standby supply current; glitch-less switching between resistor taps; and power-on recall to last saved position.
The CAT5132 general-purpose DPP is available in three standard resistance values: 10, 50 and 100kohm.
According to Jo Sellars, Product Manager with Spectrum, Catalyst's European sales and marketing representative, the introduction of these high voltage potentiometers will significantly expand the number of applications that can be addressed using digital potentiometers while simplifying the design requirements of applications that need to adjust signals up to 15V: 'By using a separate high voltage analogue input from the system power supply for biasing purposes (as opposed to an internal charge pump to generate the bias voltage), the CAT5132 maintains the low noise characteristics which are always an important design concern', concluded Sellars.
The CAT5132 is fully available in a 10-lead MSOP package.
The device is available in an environmentally friendly 'green' package that is halogen- and lead-free with full RoHS compliance.
Green packages are available with Sn lead finish and NiPdAu lead finish.
