The TPS742 belongs to a family of generation ultra-low dropout regulators that feature soft-start and tracking capabilities. These regulators use a low current bias input to power all internal control circuitry, allowing the NMOS pass transistor to regulate very low input and output voltages.

The use of an NMOS-pass FET offers several critical advantages for many applications. Unlike a PMOS topology device, the output capacitor has little effect on loop stability. This architecture allows the TPS742 devices to be stable with any output capacitor ≥ 2.2μF. Transient response is also superior to PMOS topologies, particularly for low V_IN applications.

The TPS742 devices feature a programmable voltage-controlled soft-start circuit that provides a smooth, monotonic start-up and limits start-up inrush currents that can be caused by large capacitive loads. A power-good (PG) output is available to allow supply monitoring and sequencing of other supplies. An enable (EN) pin with hysteresis and deglitch allows slow-ramping signals to be used for sequencing the device. The low V_IN and V_OUT capability allows for inexpensive, easy-to-design, and efficient linear regulation between the multiple supply voltages often present in processor intensive systems.