A Hotbed of Activity in Standard Linear
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Though Texas Instruments is the top dog among analog suppliers, the company still takes a workhorse approach to the market.
TI is focused on introducing high-performance analog technology as well as staying committed to supporting customers with industry favorite standard linear devices. TI currently offers an extensive portfolio of over 7500 standard linear commodity line items, including operational amplifiers and comparators, power management, data transmission (interface), and peripheral drivers. The company backs up those products with significant manufacturing might, extensive support, competitive pricing, and product availability.
TI views standard linear products as the "salt and pepper" of the printed circuit board - they are the standard building blocks necessary to cook up a great design, notes Marketing Director for Worldwide Standard Linear and Logic Jan H. Pape. "You go into the kitchen to cook something, you don't want to think about whether or not you have salt and pepper," he says.
TI's Standard Linear and Logic Group put together an additional linear design team two years ago and that decision is paying off. This year, TI plans to increase the number of new devices offered every quarter. In total, there will be 40-50 new devices this year. And, Pape boasts, "next year, there will be many more."
Among the company's latest standard linear operational amplifier offerings is the LMV family of low-voltage, low-power consumption operational amplifiers designed for applications requiring, low-distortion and rail-to-rail output swings. The LMV family has applications for cordless and cellular phones, laptops, PDAs, and PCMIA cards.
In the power management arena, TI also has a wide array of offerings. Of its linear regulators and low dropout regulators (LDOs), choice among devices is diverse. The LP2985, for example, offers a wide Vin range of 2.5V to 16V and low noise (30uVrms). Also, the devise is stable with low cost ceramic capacitors. TI also offers voltage references and shunt regulators for data acquisition, industrial controls, consumer electronics, and microcontrollers. The company's line of supply voltage supervisors (SVS) insure defined logic states during power up on DSPs, microprocessors, microcontrollers and ASICs. |
 Standard Linear Products Cross-Reference Guide
Need a specific linear device? Let the Standard Linear Products Cross-Reference Guide find it for you. It lists all of TI’s linear devices compatible with other devices. |
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Data transmission products are also wide-ranging. TI's RS-232 product family has single ended data communication; the RS-422 family has differential communications, long cable lengths, noise immunity; RS-485 has differential communications, long cable lengths, noise immunity and multiple receivers. Product offerings also include peripheral drivers - lamp and relay drivers. One product in particular that is gaining momentum as the industry standard RS-232 device-the MAX3243 - which consists of three line drivers, five line receivers, and a dual charge-pump circuit allowing operation from a single 5V supply. It serves as the electrical interface between an asynchronous communication controller and the serial-port connector.
TI is a powerhouse in this market, in part because it remains committed to products even as they become commodities. The company does not abandon products once they move from unique offerings to off-the-shelf standards. "We are not only putting money into high performance analog devices, but once those devices become commodities, we are still similarly committed to them," notes Pape. That dedication is backed up by action - TI maintains the largest dedicated capacity for commodity ICs, ensuring that demand for any product can be met easily.
Another part of its commitment is found in TI's approach to obsolescence. TI Standard Linear and Logic has a history of not issuing obsolescence notices for its parts.
Heidi Elliott is a freelance editor based in Massachusetts. She has more than 10 years experience covering management, distribution, supply chain and financial issues in the electronics industry; plus experience as a reporter for daily newspapers in the New England region. Heidi holds a BS in magazine journalism from Boston University and an MBA from Simmons College.
