[EE] looking for negative 5V regulator or circuit

Dwayne Reid <[email protected]>
Newsgroups gmane.comp.hardware.microcontrollers.pic
Message-ID <CAM6OUcEUB=AoafQWq5wbMhrsjPRWuPJvT5srpeg=+Ja1Kh3srA@mail.gmail.com>
Good day to all.

I'm working on a project where I need a negative 5 Vdc rail relative to the
incoming +12 Vdc rail.  My first thought was a bog-standard 7905B regulator
(the "B" suffix denotes -40C operation) but this is a battery-powered
system and the worst case bias current of 8mA is way too high.

I spent some time looking at Digikey offerings but they all seem stupid
expensive.  Can anyone suggest a part that is reasonably inexpensive and
works down to -40C?  Current is fairly low - should be less than 20 mA
worst case.  I sort of prefer a package larger than SOT-23 just because of
the fairly minimal heat dissipated.

My alternative is a 6.2V Zener diode feeding a PNP Darlington pass
transistor.

Suggestions and opinions greatly appreciated!

dwayne
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