A basic LDO has two main functions: to provide a regulated voltage output, and to ensure the output voltage has a minimum amount of noise and disturbance. A generic block diagram of an LDO consists of a pass element whose gate voltage is controlled by an error amplifier. The error amplifier compares the ratio of the output voltage to an internal reference and adjusts the gate drive appropriately. In the case of Analog Devices’ LDOs, the pass element is a PMOS device. These devices are called “Low Dropout” because of the small difference required between the input and output voltage to maintain regulation.