The LinkZero-LP offline switcher IC from Power Integrations automatically enters a zero-input-power mode when the load is disconnected, cutting no-load power consumption to 0.00 W (see the figure). The device targets chargers and adapters up to 3.2 W for a range of portable devices, including mobile phones, media players, and e-book readers.

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No-load power, which is the energy consumed by chargers left plugged into an outlet while disconnected from the end product, accounts for two-thirds of all energy consumed by mobile devices, according to Power Integrations. Short of unplugging the charger, the only means of eliminating this waste until now has been a mechanical switch.

The LinkZero-LP eliminates no-load waste without a mechanical switch by using the Power Integrations EcoSmart energy efficiency technology in combination with a proprietary power-down mode that senses when no load is present and then disables the switching of the IC’s internal high-voltage MOSFET. The LinkZero-LP automatically restarts when a load is detected.

Based on the company’s LinkSwitch-LP family of ICs, the LinkZero-LP enables power supplies with fewer than 20 external components. It is backward-compatible with existing LinkSwitch-LP designs for quick, easy conversion to zero-no-load with no increase in component count, according to Power Integrations.

Designed for low-cost clampless designs, the LinkZero-LP exhibits very tight IC parameter tolerances to improve system manufacturing yield, the company says, adding that an extended creepage distance in the SO-8C package with an integrated 700-V MOSFET with hysteretic thermal shutdown protection further improves system field reliability. Its 100-kHz operating frequency minimizes charger size. And, its frequency jittering greatly reduces the cost of electromagnetic interference (EMI) filtering.

The LinkZero-LP offline switcher IC from Power Integrations automatically enters a zero-input-power mode when the load is disconnected, cutting no-load power consumption to 0.00 W.

Available now, the LinkZero-LP costs $0.32 each in 10,000-unit quantities. Full product details, including the datasheet and design ideas, are available at www.powerint.com/linkzero-lp.

Power Integrations