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DCDC converters

There is a definite trend towards minimisation in DC/DC converter design. Diminishing board sizes and close component density have led to a continuous shrinkage in board space over the past few years. Just a few years ago, 1W and 2W DC/DC converters available on the market commonly used DIP24 housing, but today, SIP 7 is often too large for the design specification. RECOM has brought two miniature designs on the market - ROM and RBM - for standard DC/DC converters. These are significantly smaller than the usual 1W DC/DC converters in length, width, and height. Regulated 2-3W DC/DC converters still usually have DIP24 housing. RECOM's RW series 3W DC/DC converters have a construction height of 7 mm with width and length considerably less than comparable 3W DC/DC converters.

The SMD design marks a completely new approach in DC/DC converters. Unregulated and some examples of regulated DC/DC converters in DIP8 and DIP10 SMD housing are currently establishing something like a market standard. RECOM is one of the main players with its RSZ series; these 1W DC/DC converters in DIP10 SMD housing are the smallest of the regulated SMD DC/DC converters. The converter also has continuous short-circuit protection and is available with isolation voltages of up to 2 kV, and is most probably one of the most densely designed converters in the world.

Since manufacturing using SMD technology is on the rise in all areas of application, many other DC/DC converter series are available with optional SMD pinout. The new RoHS standard may not have been too much of a challenge for wired DC/DC converters, but DC/DC converters with SMD pinout need a lot of work to reach RoHS standards due to their later use. Since they are soldered in by the customer at temperatures of up to 245°C in the reflow process, the internal soldered connections in the DC/DC converter have to be protected from melting at all costs.