Diodes’ Enhanced Sounder Driver Delivers Higher Performance at a Lower Voltage

Diodes Inc., an American manufacturer and supplier of discrete...

Image: Diodes Incorporated

Diodes Inc., an American manufacturer and supplier of discrete, logic, analog and mixed-signal semiconductors, announced an enhanced version of its popular sounder driver for small and portable devices. The tiny PAM8904E delivers higher performance at a lower voltage.

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Manufacturers now use miniature piezo and ceramic sounders extensively in trackers, alarms, health monitors, security devices, and smart sensors as audio user interface. Due to their small size, these sounders can fit into portable and wearable devices, such as IoT-enabled trackers, as well as enabling miniature smart sensors that monitor the environment, including security detectors and water, smoke, and CO2 alarms. The PAM8904E sounder driver is designed to meet the requirements of the smallest application operating from extremely low voltages, said a press release.

Diodes provides versatile, and efficient multi-device switches for PCI Express, LAN, HDMI, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt, and more (Image: Diodes, Twitter)

The device can support both single-ended and differential output modes with minimal external components. It features a wide-input voltage supply range between 1.5V and 5.5V and a shutdown current consumption within 1µA. The sounder also accepts an input signal between 20Hz to 300kHz. Despite its small size, the PAM8904E integrates a charge-pump boost converter that operates in 1x, 2x, and 3x modes.

The enhanced option in the PAM8904E drives a sounder load up to 47nF, which is significantly higher than the drive capability of competing devices. The PAM8904E also features thermal shutdown, overcurrent protection, and short-circuit protection as well as an automatic shutdown and wake function that can help maximize the operational lifetime of battery-powered devices.

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The PAM8904EGPR is available in the W-QFN2020-12 Type A package, which measures 2.00mm × 2.00mm wide × 0.80mm high. Other packaging options include U-QFN3030-12 Type A (PAM8904EJPR) and U-QFN3030-16 (PAM8904EJER).

Sam Draper
December 5, 2019

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