Linear Technology has introduced the LTC4361, a 2.5 to 5.5 V overvoltage and overcurrent protection controller designed to safeguard low voltage, portable electronics from damaging input voltage transients and current surges.
The device uses a 2% accurate 5.8 V overvoltage threshold to detect an overvoltage event and responds within 1µs (max) to isolate the downstream components from the input.
Overvoltage protection of up to 80 V can be achieved with this IC/MOSFET solution without the need for additional external components such as capacitors or transorbs at the input.
In addition, the controller monitors voltage drop across a current sense resistor at the input of the circuit to protect against overcurrent faults.
It is targeted at mobile electronics with multiple power supply options such as mobile phones, MP3/MP4 players, digital cameras that charge via wall and car battery adapters and USB ports.
