Single comparator with on-chip voltage reference
The MAX917ESA+ from Analog Devices packs a single comparator and a precision voltage reference into an 8-SOIC package — one IC replaces the two-device chain that normally sits between a sensor front-end and a logic input.
Power budget and response trade-offs
Quiescent current maxes out at 1.6µA — the comparator draws less than the self-discharge of a CR2032 coin cell, so a threshold-detection circuit that sleeps months between events stays alive on the same battery. The 95µs maximum propagation delay is the price of that low power: the output takes nearly 100µs to change state after the input crosses the threshold, which rules out high-speed PWM or zero-crossing detection but works fine for temperature alarms, battery undervoltage locks, and slow sensor comparators. Built-in 4mV hysteresis prevents the output from chattering when a noisy input signal hovers near the threshold — no external positive-feedback resistor needed.
Output drive and temperature range
The CMOS push-pull output swings rail-to-rail and sources or sinks up to 50mA typical, enough to drive a logic input directly or switch a small LED indicator without a buffer transistor.
Fully ROHS3 compliant, with no exemptions that expire; the part ships in tubes, not tape-and-reel, so it stores easily on the shelf without moisture-barrier bag concerns.