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LM317: Question about a power supply with LM317

Part Number: LM317

Hi,

I have a question about a power supply with LM317:

  • Is there a "Temperature" vs "Expected life" for LM317?,
  • Does the hotter it runs the less expected working life it has?

Thanks,

  • Hi Luis,

    That is somewhat true, but mostly only at higher temperatures (greater than 125C or so). The mechanism for failure at higher temperatures is the diffusion of adjacent materials into each other, eventually creating gaps (i.e. open circuits), and the relationship between this diffusion is not linear with temperature. In general we can normally simulate an expected FIT rate with given conditions for the die, but since this is a legacy National Semiconductor device, we don't have access to the design files so there's not a lot we can do here. 

    Regards,

    Nick