Weartech-Power

Energy harvesting PMIC contributes to low power IoT

Tue, Apr 11, 2023

Adding to its range of power ICs, Nexperia has introduced the NEH2000BY power management IC (PMIC) for low power embedded applications, including the IoT.

The NEH2000BY PMIC recharges a battery or storage capacitor using energy harvested from ambient sources, such as light (which can be harvested using a photovoltaic cell). The PMIC will enable the development of electronic devices that are self-powered, smaller, and environmentally friendly, said Nexperia and exploit energy harvesting to help mitigate the environmental impact of the billions of batteries produced and discarded each year.

The PMIC makes it much easier to design energy harvesting solutions which can be up to 20x smaller than other competing offerings and do not require manual optimization for individual applications, claimed the company. It is designed without inductors, which simplifies PCB design and “significantly” reduces BoM and board size. The assembly area is just 12mm².

To achieve the highest conversion efficiency, energy harvesting must be able to adapt as the ambient energy source fluctuates. To this end, the NEH2000BY performs maximum power point tracking (MPPT), an adaptive algorithm to optimise how it transfers harvested energy, achieving optimum average conversion efficiency by up to 80 per cent. The MPPT algorithm combines speed with accuracy, allows the PMIC to adapt to environmental changes in less than one second: significantly faster than any other currently available solution, said Nexperia. By maximising the amount of energy harvested over the course of a day, the PMIC can broaden the number of applicable use cases, while the self-optimisation functionality and the ability to operate autonomously without pre-programming make it simpler to design products using ambient energy.

Nexperia’s energy harvesting technology enables economical energy harvesting from various ambient sources in applications consuming up to several mW of power, including wireless IoT nodes, wearable smart tags and electronic shelf labels.

Dan Jensen, general manager business group analogue and logic ICs at Nexperia commented: “The NEH2000BY . . . will allow the adoption of energy harvesting in a larger range of use cases. By eliminating the requirement to change batteries in these applications, NEH2000BY will significantly reduce the amount of hazardous waste produced, with enormous environmental benefits.”

The NEH2000BY is available in a 16-lead, 3.0 x 3.0mm QFN package and operates between -40 and +85 degrees C.

http://www.nexperia.com

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Charger IC is wireless power transfer-compatible

Tue, May 31, 2022

A multi-functional, compact charging IC for lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, the XC6810, supports wireless power transfer.

Available from Torex Semiconductor, the XC6810 series of charging ICs for Li-ion batteries are suitable for wearables, hearables or IoT devices. Functions include charge and discharge control as well as wireless power supply support. 

Charging current is 1.0 to approximately 25mA, making it suitable for small Li-ion batteries. The ICs can provide a wide charging range of 3.8 to 4.4V.The XC6810 series are equipped with shutdown function to suppress battery discharge when stored or not in use as well as a wake-up function, activated using an external push button, to extend the life of batteries and devices. 

In addition to the conventional LED-driven display, a terminal indicates the charging status, showing charging level by frequency. It also supports charging monitoring using a microcontroller. 

The XC6810 is equipped with a battery voltage monitoring function, which can directly monitor the battery voltage through a microcontroller, or a low battery voltage notification function. 

The wide input voltage range of 3.5 to 28V supports wireless power and energy harvester charging, confirmed Torex. For contact-type charging using a cradle, for example, one version has a terminal which modulates the power supply line for the charging status to be notified by two-wire communication. The charging status and charging control can be displayed through the cradle. 

Torex Semiconductor provides CMOS power management ICs for battery powered and energy efficient applications. The company specialises in CMOS analogue technology, with LDO voltage regulators, voltage detectors and DC/DC converters in its product portfolio.

http://www.torexsemi.com

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Fast charging ICs offer highest charging efficiencies, says Halo Microelectronics 

Tue, Apr 26, 2022

Two fast charging ICs released by Halo Microelectronics use a dual-phase switched capacitor architecture for single cell battery applications.

The HL7138 and HL7139, fast charging ICs are claimed to offer the industry’s highest charging efficiencies, which enable faster and cooler battery charging operations in a PCB solution size that is up to 30 per cent smaller than the nearest competitor. The small form factor allows for more system level design flexibility, added Halo Microelectronics.

In addition to saving consumers time by fast charging, the ICs deliver cooler charging which means less energy is wasted, making the charging process environmentally friendly. The small size also provides designers more leeway to choose between thinner and lighter form factors or larger batteries for longer battery life, and whether to include more features or lower bill of material (BoM) costs.

Fast charging is one of the features which can differentiate a smartphone design in a saturated market. It is also one that consumers can relate to and understand the benefits, commented David Nam, CEO of Halo Microelectronics. “Halo Microelectronics has seen switched capacitor-based fast-charging architectures quickly extend from high-end to mid-level smartphones,” he said.

Halo Microelectronics develops analogue and power management ICs (PMICs) enabling energy-efficient smart systems. Its customers develop mobile, IoT and automotive systems.

https://halomicro.com

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Nowi unveil energy harvesting PMIC with a cold start feature

Fri, Apr 01, 2022

Dutch semiconductor company, Nowi, extends its energy harvesting and power management portfolio with the Diatom chipset. The 4.0 x 4.0mm Diatom (NH16D3045) is an energy harvesting PMIC, which has a wide power input range from micro W to mW and a fast MPPT (maximum power point tracking) for efficient energy harvesting.

It is designed to extract the power output of a wide range of energy harvesters to charge a variety of energy storage elements such as rechargeable batteries or supercapacitors. 

The cold start feature enables batteryless applications, which helps companies reduce maintenance costs, as well as a more sustainable and easier to use option, the company said.

Diatom caters to the need for increased integration in order to lower implementation cost, size and complexity whilst improving performance, added Nowi. It combines integrated energy harvesting and power management into a single product and has regulated output, over-voltage protection and USB charging. 

Diatom enables power autonomy in a variety of low power applications, from the smart home to industry 4.0 and retail applications. It can be used in IoT devices, electronic shelf labels (ESLs), to smart wearables such as smart bands, glasses, and consumer electronics like remote controls, tags. 

According to Nowi, Diatom perpetually powers devices with clean ambient energy, simplifies the design process and lowers the threshold to develop energy autonomous products. 

Simon van der Jagt, CEO at Nowi, said that the inductorless design and integrated power management functionalities will contribute to reduced implementation cost and area  required, and make new designs possible.

Semiconductor company, Nowi was founded in 2016, based in Delft, the Netherlands. It ha regional offices in the US and in Shanghai. 

Nowi has developed energy harvesting power management ICs (PMICs) that combine harvesting performance with small assembly footprint and low bill of materials (BoM) cost. 

http://www.nowi-energy.com 

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