SLYY203B September 2021 – April 2023 BQ25125 , LM5123-Q1 , LMR43610 , LMR43610-Q1 , LMR43620 , LMR43620-Q1 , TPS22916 , TPS3840 , TPS62840 , TPS63900 , TPS7A02
Decreased IQ may also result in increased board area required for larger passives or IC package sizes. Larger external passives such as large-value capacitors for both LDOs and DC/DC converters are common in nanopower devices and typically used to compensate for poorer transient performance. Larger package areas are directly attributable to larger die areas.
Upon visual inspection of die teardowns with an IQ <1 µA, resistors and capacitors make up more than 20% of the internal non-field-effect-transistor (FET) die area. While there are multiple solutions to solve IQ-area problems, an easy method to filter out the best solutions on the market is to apply a simple FOM: IQ multiplied by the smallest package area. You can access the FOM by pulling relevant information from data sheets; looking at the smallest package offered provides clues about smaller die areas.
Choosing the device with both the lowest IQ and smallest package available usually means good IQ-area efficiency.