The MAX6061-MAX6068 family from Maxim Integrated (now part of Analog Devices) is a set of precision series voltage references in SOT23 with one feature that sets them apart from a typical micropower reference: high output current. Where a low-power reference might source a few hundred microamps, these parts deliver a full 5 mA source and 2 mA sink - enough to drive a heavier reference load directly without a buffer. The MAX6063 is the 3.000 V grade, and the "B" suffix in MAX6063BEUR+T denotes the 0.2% initial-accuracy grade.

It is a series (three-terminal) reference, so it draws only the current the load needs rather than wasting bias through a shunt resistor. The quiescent current is 90 µA typical - higher than an ultra-low-power reference, but that is the trade for the 5 mA drive - and the family spans 1.248 V to 5.000 V (MAX6063 = 3.000 V). Accuracy is held to 0.2% initial and 20 ppm/°C over temperature, the precision a 10-12-bit converter needs.

Application is simple. The reference is stable with capacitive loads and requires no output capacitor - removing the compensation question that complicates many references - and its low-dropout design needs only 200 mV of headroom at 1 mA, so it regulates 3.000 V from an input close to the output. Wideband and 0.1-10 Hz noise are low (13 µV_p-p on the 1.25 V MAX6061), the input runs to 12.6 V, and the part operates over -40 °C to +85 °C in the ultra-small 3-pin SOT23.

Note: Values are taken from the Maxim MAX6061-MAX6068 datasheet. Confirm every parameter against the latest official documentation before committing a design.

MAX6063BEUR+T ships in the SOT23-3 (3-pin small-outline transistor package, outline 21-0051) - the tiny three-lead body that lets a high-output reference fit a portable or hand-held design. With only three pins (IN, OUT, GND) the layout is simple: keep the OUT trace short and adequately wide to the load it drives at up to 5 mA, bypass IN to GND, and place the part near the converter or divider it references. The dimensional drawing below gives the full mechanical detail.

The SOT23-3 has three pins - input, output and ground (per the MAX6061-MAX6068 datasheet):

• Pin 1 - IN: Supply input; ~3.2 V to 12.6 V. Bypass to GND.
• Pin 2 - OUT: Reference output, 3.000 V; sources 5 mA / sinks 2 mA. No output capacitor required.
• Pin 3 - GND: Ground.

Within the MAX6061-MAX6068 high-output family the other voltages are pin-identical (1.248 V to 5.000 V). The SOT23-3 references below cover the same 3 V / 2.5 V / 4.096 V / 5 V points in Maxim's other reference families - match the output voltage and the drive/I_Q trade to your design.

Selection Tips: Choose the MAX6063 when a reference must drive milliamps (5 mA source / 2 mA sink) at 3 V; within the MAX6061-MAX6068 family other voltages (1.248-5.000 V) are pin-compatible. If the load is light and low I_Q matters more than drive, the MAX6003 (3 V) or the precision MAX6025 (2.5 V, 15 ppm) may fit better.

Maxim Integrated, now part of Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI), built the MAX6061-MAX6068 to give designers a precision SOT23 reference that can also drive current - 5 mA source / 2 mA sink - so a heavier reference load needs no separate buffer.

ADI maintains the datasheet, the accuracy and tempco grades, and the stability and load-drive guidance for the family - the documentation that turns a three-pin SOT23 into a high-output system reference.