Creative Spins on Low-Iq Applications and Designs (Part 1) (Download)

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Many tech designers think about integrated-circuit (IC) quiescent current (I_q) as shutdown current, or standby current, or even no load current. All three terms are virtually the same, that is, the input current drawn by an IC from its input supply. The input current to an IC is impacted by various states in several ways.

When looking at an IC datasheet, the three most important parameters that designers must understand and consider in their designs are shutdown current, non-switching current, and no-load input current.