48V power architectures are rapidly becoming standard in automotive, AI/datacenter, networking and industrial equipment. On these rails, designers increasingly need energy visibility over time, not just a snapshot of voltage and current. To address this, Microchip has introduced its PAC1761 and PAC1861 families of 65V digital power monitors.
Energy‑aware monitoring for 48V rails
The new devices are built for 48V systems that must survive harsh electrical environments. They support up to 65V measurement headroom and 75V transient spike protection, covering typical 48V rails with plenty of margin for start‑up and load‑dump events.
Beyond basic telemetry, the PAC1761/PAC1861 add accumulated‑energy measurement, allowing firmware to track how much energy has been consumed or delivered over time. Key functions include:
- Programmable alerts for voltage, current and power excursions
- Step‑limit detection for sudden load changes
- Configurable accumulated‑energy thresholds that can trigger system‑level responses
This lets an MCU make smarter decisions about throttling, fault handling, redundancy and predictive maintenance in 48V power distribution.
Variants, tools and pricing
Target applications span automotive, servers, AI/data centers, telecom/PoE, networking and general 48V distribution. The lineup includes:
- PAC1761 with 12‑bit measurement
- PAC1861 with 16‑bit measurement
- Packages: VDFN‑8 (SOT23‑8‑like), VDFN‑10, MSOP‑10, including automotive‑qualified versions
Pin‑compatible options allow designers to switch between parts as requirements or availability change, without respinning the board.
Development support comes via the EV12R33A evaluation board, a Python CLI and library, Linux driver and a generic C library with multiple MCU code examples.
According to Microchip, pricing starts at $0.56 in 10,000‑unit quantities for the PAC1761T-3E/E3 and PAC1861T-1E/3P in MSOP‑10. The EV12R33A evaluation board is priced at $49, and both ICs and tools are available now through Microchip and its distributors.
Source: Microchip Technology, Electronics-Lab
