ICs & Semiconductors

New Renesas USB-C power solution improves performance

Wed, Aug 20, 2025

Renesas has introduced the RAA489300/RAA489301 high-performance buck controller designed with a three-level buck topology used for battery charging and voltage regulation in USB-C systems such as multiple-port USB-PD chargers, portable power stations, PC docking station, robots, drones, and other applications that need a high efficiency DC/DC controller.

The three-level buck converter topology enabled by the new IC delivers exceptional efficiency and significantly reduces the required inductance for regulating the output voltage. Its innovative design minimises power loss and reduces system size, making it ideal for compact, high-performance applications.

The three-level topology consists of two additional switches and a flying capacitor compared to a conventional two-level buck converter. The flying capacitor reduces voltage stress on the switches, allowing designers to use lower voltage FETs with better figures of merit. The result is reduced conduction and switching losses. This topology also enables the use of a smaller inductor with peak-to-peak ripple of only about 25 percent of that of a two-level converter, enabling reduced inductor core and direct current resistance losses.

Key Features of the RAA489300/RAA489301 battery charger and voltage regulator:

Wide range of input and output voltages for use in voltage battery packs and with various PD adapters
Integrated safety features with built-in protection mechanisms against overcharging, overheating, and voltage anomalies
Scalability for easily adapting to various power levels and application requirements
Optimised switching architecture divides voltage across power switches, improving efficiency
Minimises power consumption, contributing to greener, more sustainable designs
Lower thermal stress improves system reliability and extends product lifespan

https://www.renesas.com

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Alif Semi release benchmark results from its latest GenAI enabled MCUs

Wed, Aug 13, 2025

Alif Semiconductor has released benchmarks on its latest E4, E6 and E8 microcontrollers and fusion processors.

The new Ensemble devices contain support for up to two MIPI-CSI image sensors. They also include a fully hardware-accelerated image signal processor (ISP) pipeline that operates at up to 60fps at 2MP resolution. This image throughput is enabled with a new wide memory subsystem for extremely fast on-chip as well as off-chip transactions, pushing inferencing speed well below a millisecond when running AI models from internal, highly power efficient MRAM.

The generative AI capability in the Ensemble E4, E6, and E8 devices is made possible by Alif’s future-proof system architecture. Alif is the first silicon provider to offer the Arm Ethos-U85 NPU which supports transformer-based ML networks. As an example of power efficiency, an SLM executed on an E4 device draws only 36mW of power when generating text to construct a story based on a user-provided prompt.

These levels of performance and efficiency enable developers to innovate next-generation products in human-to-computer interfacing, healthcare and diagnostics, robotics, transportation, toys and education, smart homes, and smart city equipment.

Paul Williamson, Senior Vice President and General Manager, IoT Line of Business at Arm, said: “Generative AI is raising the bar for intelligence beyond the cloud, demanding greater performance, privacy, responsiveness, and efficiency. Powered by Arm Ethos technology and supported by our robust software ecosystem, Alif’s latest Ensemble MCUs bring advanced on-device AI capabilities to even the most constrained devices, unlocking real-time insights in applications like health monitoring and wearables. This enables developers to deliver the next generation of intelligent, on-device experiences.”

https://alifsemi.com

 

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Battery management technology from TI delivers up to 30% longer run time

Tue, Jul 29, 2025

Texas Instruments has introduced new single-chip battery fuel gauges with first-of-its-kind adaptive Dynamic Z-Track technology for more efficient, reliable operation in battery-powered devices. Compared to traditional gauging methods, the predictive modelling algorithm in TI’s BQ41Z90 and BQ41Z50 gauges achieve industry-leading state-of-charge and state-of-health accuracy within 1% error, helping extend battery run time by up to 30%.

As users demand more power from electronics, such as laptops, e-bikes and portable medical devices, battery management systems (BMSs) must provide precise, accurate, real-time monitoring. The BQ41Z90 and BQ41Z50 fuel gauges with Dynamic Z-Track technology help engineers design electronic devices with accurate battery capacity readings, even under unpredictable loads. With this increased accuracy, engineers can select a battery size with confidence, eliminating the need for oversized batteries.

Battery-powered electronics are becoming more complex, making it even more important to use board space efficiently. The BQ41Z90 is the industry’s first highly integrated fuel gauge, monitor and protector for 3-to-16 lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery cells in series. This single-chip solution enables engineers to reduce complexity and save as much as 25% of board space compared to traditional discrete solutions. The BQ41Z50 supports 2-to-4 cells in series.

https://www.TI.com.

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Renesas introduces 64-bit RZ/G3E MPU for high-performance HMI systems

Tue, Jul 29, 2025

Renesas has announced the launch of its new 64-bit RZ/G3E microprocessor (MPU), a general-purpose device optimised for high-performance Human Machine Interface (HMI) applications. Combining a quad-core Arm® Cortex-A55 running at up to 1.8GHz with a Neural Processing Unit (NPU), the RZ/G3E brings high-performance edge computing with AI inference for faster, more efficient local processing. With Full HD graphics support and high-speed connectivity, the MPU targets HMI systems for industrial and consumer segments including factory equipment, medical monitors, retail terminals and building automation.

At the heart of the RZ/G3E is a quad-core Arm Cortex-A55, a Cortex-M33 core, and the Ethos-U55 NPU for AI tasks. This architecture efficiently runs AI applications such as image classification, object recognition, voice recognition and anomaly detection while minimising CPU load. Designed for HMI applications, it delivers smooth Full HD (1920×1080) video at 60fps on two independent displays, with output interfaces including LVDS (dual-link), MIPI-DSI, and parallel RGB. A MIPI-CSI camera interface is also available for video input and sensing applications.

The RZ/G3E is equipped with a range of high-speed communication interfaces essential for edge devices. These include PCI Express 3.0 (2 lanes) for up to 8Gbps, USB 3.2 Gen2 for fast 10Gbps data transfer, and dual-channel Gigabit Ethernet for seamless connectivity with cloud services, storage, and 5G modules.

Starting with the third-generation RZ/G3S, the RZ/G series includes advanced power management features to significantly reduce standby power. The RZ/G3E maintains sub-CPU operation and peripheral functions while achieving low power consumption around 50mW and around 1mW in deep standby mode. It supports DDR self-refresh mode to retain memory data, enabling quick wake-up from deep standby for running Linux applications.

Renesas continues to offer the Verified Linux Package (VLP) based on the reliable Civil Infrastructure Platform, with over 10 years of maintenance support. For users requiring the latest versions, Renesas provides Linux BSP Plus, including support for the latest LTS Linux kernel and Yocto. Ubuntu by Canonical and Debian open-source OS are also available for server or desktop Linux environments.

Renesas has also introduced system-on-module (SoM) solutions featuring the RZ/G3E. A broad range of SoM solutions will be available from Renesas’ ecosystem partners such as a SMARC module from Tria, an OSM (Size-M) from ARIES Embedded, and an OSM (Size-L) from MXT.

https://www.renesas.com/rzg3e

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