Catalyst Semiconductor Introduces High Voltage Digital Potentiometer

Sunnyvale, CA -- Catalyst Semiconductor, Inc. expanded its family of Digital Programmable Potentiometers with the introduction of its first high voltage DPP. The CAT5132 is Catalyst Semiconductor's first DPP to be designed for applications requiring up to 15 volts on the potentiometer terminals. Specifically targeted at calibration functions in high voltage environments, the CAT5132 has a separate input for an analog supply which provides the high voltage bias for the potentiometer terminals. The potentiometer is controlled via a 2-wire, I2C compatible bus interface, which allows for adjusting the digital potentiometer's 128 (or 7 bit) wiper positions with or without saving the current position in an EEPROM. This general purpose linear digital potentiometer is available in three standard resistance values: 10K, 50K and 100K ohms.

The CAT5132 is targeted toward many applications that require a potentiometer to operate with terminal voltages of up to 15 volts. One of the more unique applications of these higher voltage DPPs will be adjusting the VCOM values used to improve performance of LCD displays. Other applications include LED Brightness Control, LCD contrast adjustments, volume control, gain adjustment and mechanical trim potentiometer replacement.

"The introduction of these high voltage potentiometers will significantly expand the number of applications that can be addressed using digital potentiometers while simplifying the design requirements of applications that need to adjust signals up to 15 volts," said Jerry Miller, Product Marketing Manager. "Additionally, by using a separate high voltage analog input from the system power supply for biasing purposes (as opposed to an internal charge pump to generate the bias voltage), the CAT5132 maintains the low noise characteristics which are always an important design concern," he concluded.

SOURCE: Catalyst Semiconductor