Power Switch / Load Switch (PSW)
Integrated MOSFET switches with controlled turn-on, soft-start, and protection.
What is it?
A load switch is a packaged MOSFET with built-in gate driver, controlled slew rate, optional soft-start, and integrated protections (over-current, thermal). Used to gate a power rail on or off in response to a logic signal, far cleaner than driving a discrete MOSFET yourself. Modern parts include features like reverse-current blocking and quick output discharge.
When do you need it?
- Switching individual sub-system rails on/off for power gating (idle modes).
- Sequencing one rail after another (with controlled inrush).
- Hot-swap or insertion protection (controlled rise time prevents giant inrush).
- Over-current and thermal protection without external monitor circuits.
- USB host port enable/disable with current limit.
How to pick the right one
- VIN range
- Must span your gated rail (1.5-5.5 V for low-voltage, up to 24 V for industrial).
- IOUT (continuous current)
- Match to load. 1 A / 3 A / 6 A common. Check Tj rise at full current.
- RDS(on)
- Lower = less voltage drop and self-heating. Modern PSWs are 10-50 mΩ.
- Soft-start time
- Controls inrush. Useful for capacitive loads; pick longer for larger output cap.
- Protection features
- Over-current threshold, thermal trip, reverse-current blocking, auto-discharge, pick the set matching your fault-handling design.
- Channels
- Single-channel for one rail; dual-channel for two independent rails in one package.
What Magnias offers
Load switches (Load Switch page): PSW5192N-C11 / PSW5192D-C11 (3 A, 25 mΩ, CSP1010-4L), PSW2892-F21 (6 A, 14 mΩ, DFN2020-10L), PSW2898-F23 (dual, 6 A per channel, TDFN2x3-14L), PSW529-TF2 (6 A, 22 mΩ, TDFN2x2-8L) and PSW1510-A10 (12 A, 3.2 mΩ typical, AQFN1.5x2.0-10L). Current-limited power distribution switches (Power Switch page): PSW509 (0.5 A to 2.6 A, SOT23-5L), PSW517 (adjustable current limit), PSW516 (4-20 V input, TSOT23-8L) and PSW910Z-N25 (2.8-22 V dual-input priority power mux). USB PD sink switches and eFuses have their own pages.