MAX5530/MAX5531
Ultra-Low-Power, 12-Bit, 
Voltage-Output DACs
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Power Modes
The MAX5530/MAX5531 feature two power modes to 
conserve power during idle periods. In normal operation, the device is fully operational. In shutdown mode, 
the device is completely powered down, including the 
internal voltage reference in the MAX5531. The 
MAX5531 also offers a standby mode where all circuitry 
is powered down except the internal voltage reference. 
Standby mode keeps the reference powered up while 
the remaining circuitry is shut down, allowing it to be 
used as a system reference. Standby mode also helps 
reduce the wake-up delay by not requiring the reference to power up when returning to normal operation.
Shutdown Mode
The MAX5530/MAX5531 feature a software-programmable shutdown mode that reduces the typical supply 
current and the reference input current to 0.18µA 
(max). Writing an input control word with control bits 
C[3:0] = 1110 places the device in shutdown mode 
(Table 2). In shutdown, the MAX5530 reference input 
and DAC output buffers go high impedance. Placing 
the MAX5531 into shutdown turns off the internal reference, and the DAC output buffers go high impedance. 
The serial interface remains active for all devices.
Table 2 shows several commands that bring the 
MAX5530/MAX5531 back to normal operation. The 
power-up time from shutdown is required before the 
DAC outputs are valid.
Note: For the MAX5531, standby mode cannot be 
entered directly from shutdown mode. The device must 
be brought into normal operation before entering standby mode.
Standby Mode (MAX5531 Only)
The MAX5531 features a software-programmable 
standby mode that reduces the typical supply current 
to 6µA. Standby mode powers down all circuitry except 
the internal voltage reference. Place the device in 
standby mode by writing an input control word with 
control bits C[3:0] = 1100 (Table 2). The internal reference and serial interface remain active while the DAC 
output buffers go high impedance. If the MAX5531 is 
coming out of standby, the power-up time from standby 
is required before the DAC outputs are valid.
For the MAX5531, standby mode cannot be entered 
directly from shutdown mode. The device must be 
brought into normal operation before entering standby 
mode. To enter standby from shutdown, issue the command to return to normal operation, followed immediately by the command to go into standby.
Table 2 shows several commands that bring the 
MAX5531 back to normal operation. When transitioning 
from standby mode to normal operation, only the DAC 
power-up time is required before the DAC outputs 
are valid. 
Reference Input
The MAX5530 accepts a reference with a voltage range 
extending from 0 to VDD. The output voltage (V
OUT
) is 
represented by a digitally programmable voltage 
source as:
V
OUT
= (V
REF
x N / 4096) x gain
where N is the numeric value of the DAC’s binary input 
code (0 to 4095), V
REF
is the reference voltage and 
gain is the externally set voltage gain for the MAX5530/ 
MAX5531.
In shutdown mode, the reference input enters a highimpedance state with an input impedance of 2.5GΩ (typ). 
Reference Output
The MAX5531 internal voltage reference is software 
configurable to one of four voltages. Upon power-up, 
the default reference voltage is 1.214V. Configure the 
reference voltage using the D11 and D10 data bits 
(Table 3) when the control bits are as follows C[3:0] = 
1100, 1101, or 1110 (Table 2). VDDmust be kept at a 
minimum of 200mV above V
REF
for proper operation.