Supervisory ICs are integrated circuits that monitor the condition of microprocessors.
So Supervisory Chips offer a support function monitoring voltages and timing.
Some Supervisory ICs might be designed to monitor the speed of a fan, and have no other function. Other ICs might just monitor the state or voltage level of a battery.
What ever the functionality of the circuit, the common aspect of the chip is having one or more connections back to a uP to inform the processor to power down, reset or take some other corrective action. Although most Supervisory ICs are really just voltage monitors used to insure that the power supplies [voltage rails] on a card ramp up correctly. In fact some companies segment their products by the number of voltage lines that can be monitored.
Analog Devices {Microprocessor Supervisors and Reset Generators}
EM Microelectronic-Marin
SA {EM voltage supervisor circuits include voltage detector, power-on reset IC, watchdog and regulator}
Maxim Integrated Products {Microprocessor Supervisors, Voltage Monitors, Sequencers}
ON Semiconductor {Voltage Supervisory}
Texas Instruments Inc. 'TI' {supervisor and sequencing ICs; 1 to 11 voltages monitored}
A listing of uP Supervisory IC Manufacturers and vendors. The types of products or devices they produce are listed under the company name, in alphabetic order.
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Related IC manufacturers
Power Management IC Manufacturers [which might include sequencing ICs]
Power-On Reset Definition, in the dictionary section of the site.
