2.048 V fixed reference for precision data converters
It is designed to serve as the voltage reference for high-resolution ADCs and DACs in instrumentation, avionics, and industrial control systems where the reference noise floor and thermal stability directly set the system's measurement uncertainty.
6 µVp-p noise — the ADC resolution bottleneck
The REF5020MDREP specifies low-frequency noise of 6 µVp-p over the 0.1 Hz to 10 Hz band. For an 18-bit ADC with a 2.048 V full-scale range, 1 LSB is roughly 7.8 µV — the reference noise alone consumes nearly a full code of the noise budget. In a 24-bit sigma-delta converter, that 6 µVp-p noise limits the effective resolution to about 18 noise-free bits unless the reference is averaged or filtered externally.
2.7 V to 18 V input — one rail, no regulator
The input voltage range of 2.7 V to 18 V lets the REF5020MDREP run directly from a 3.3 V, 5 V, or 12 V supply bus without an intermediate LDO. The 1.25 mA quiescent supply current is the price of that flexibility — at 10 mA output current the dropout is just the headroom needed above 2.048 V, so the reference stays in regulation as long as the input stays above about 2.2 V.