Claimed to combine industry-leading precision performance with simpler power-supply design, the DAC8775 operates from a single, wide 12 to 36V power rail. It leverages and an integrated buck/boost converter to generate all of the required internal power supplies, saving time, cost and board space, says the company.

The four-channel DAC addresses the trend to include more channels in a smaller space in factory automation and process control equipment. A major challenge to this is managing power dissipation in a small form factor. By combining a 4.0 to 20mA current and voltage driver with a precision reference and a buck/boost converter, the DAC8775 reduces total system footprint by up to 215 per cent, claims the company, compared with the nearest competing device.

An on-chip diagnostic features include smart alarms that monitor open load, short circuit, over-temperature, cyclic redundancy check (CRC), watchdog timer and compliance voltage. Designers can choose pre-set actions that help detect faults early to facilitate reliable system operation.

An auto-learn feature calculates the load impedance on the current loop and clamps the power supply for faster settling time, balancing efficiency with quicker system response.

A total unadjusted error of 0.1% full-scale range (FSR) over an extended industrial temperature range of -40 to 125°C enables designers to rate output modules for higher temperature ranges. According to the company, the high DC performance reduces the need for system calibration, saving manufacturing costs compared to a discrete solution.

For a thermally optimised design, the DAC8775 dynamically adjusts the generated supply based on the current load on the current loop. This creates an efficient system with well-controlled thermal performance, allowing more channels in a smaller space, says the company.

A four-channel analog output module reference design demonstrates the combination of the DAC8775 and the LM5166 high-efficiency synchronous buck converter, also from Texas Instruments, that dissipates less than 1.0W of power in factory-automation implementations.

The DAC8775 is available now in a 10 x 10mm QFN package.