Class D mono amplifier with I²C digital volume
The MAX9768ETG+ is a Class D mono amplifier delivering 10W continuous into an 8Ω load from a 4.5V to 14V supply — the switching topology keeps efficiency above 85% at full output, so the 24-TQFN exposed pad dissipates the remaining heat into the PCB ground plane rather than requiring a separate heatsink. The I²C interface sets the gain and volume in 64 steps, and the depop circuit suppresses the turn-on thump that otherwise couples through the speaker when the supply ramps. Mute and shutdown are also bus-controlled, so a single I²C transaction can silence the output or drop the quiescent current to near-zero for battery-powered standby.
Supply rail and thermal design for the PCB
The 4.5V minimum supply means the amplifier runs from a single-cell Li-ion battery down to its discharge cutoff; the 14V maximum covers a regulated 12V rail with margin. Short-circuit and thermal protection are on-die — the amplifier shuts down and auto-recovers when the fault clears, so a speaker terminal shorted to ground during assembly testing does not latch the part.