Texas Instruments Introduces Class-D Amplifiers

Texas Instruments Incorporated has announced in a press release the immediate availability in production volumes of its TPA203xD1 suite of devices under the Class-D family. The audio power amplifiers are designed to integrate into the limited board space of cell phones, portable digital media players and handhelds. According to the pricing details included in the public statement, the TPA203xD1 devices will be sold for $0.60 per unit for quantities beginning at 1,000 items.

"As more and more portable audio customers are making the move to Class-D amplifiers, TI's expertise and innovative products are proving to be a tremendous asset in this competitive market," said Nicholas Holland, high performance analog marketing manager at Texas Instruments. "The TPA203xD1 amplifiers provide more than 2.5x power efficiency compared to Class-AB for customers who want to extend battery life and provide a better audio experience while using less board space."

Occupying only a maximum area of 2.5 mm x 1.7 mm on a printed circuit board, the TPA203xD1 devices are designed to drive "2.75 W from a 5-V power supply into 4 ohms with a low 27uVrms A-weighted noise floor." This is equivalent to a 50% decrease in board size and additional improvements to the Power Supply Rejection Ratio and the Common-mode Rejection Ratio by 20dB and 12dB respectively.