MEMS timing accelerates wireless charging says SiTime

For power-sensitive and space-constrained mobile and IoT applications, the SiT3901 uPower digitally controlled MEMS oscillator (DCXO) has been introduced by SiTime. It improves wireless charging speed by up to 25 per cent while reducing the overall timing solution area by up to 90 per cent, says the company. The MEMS oscillator is suitable for wireless charging systems for smart watches, activity trackers, hearing aids, and wearables.

“The power and size requirements of new wireless applications demand a new approach to timing,” says Piyush Sevalia, executive vice president of marketing at SiTime. “The SiT3901 DCXO is the industry’s first µPower digitally controlled oscillator, and it delivers by improving charging efficiency and reducing the area,” he adds.

Wireless charging standards such as Qi and AirFuel rely on resonant power transfer to enable proximity charging. However, environmental interference may dynamically impact the resonant charging frequency, which slows down the charging process. The SiT3901 enables the charger to dynamically tune the resonant frequency, maximising power transfer and delivering up to 25 per cent faster charging. The digital control feature on the SiT3901 DCXO eliminates the need for additional passive components on the board, reducing the timing solution area by up to 90 per cent. The resulting charging system works better and is smaller, more manufacturable, and more reliable, claims SiTime.

The SiT3901 DCXO extends SiTime’s µPower MEMS oscillator family targeting power and space-constrained wearable, hearable, IoT, and mobile applications. The µPower MEMS oscillators consume up to 90 per cent less power and up to 90 per cent less space compared to quartz oscillators, enabling environmentally friendly electronics. The SiT3901 offers high resilience to analogue noise and includes low 105 microA current consumption (typical), a wide digital pull range (up to 15 per cent) for output frequency and a programmable frequency of 1.0 to 26MHz. They are stable over temperature of ±50 and ±100 ppm and have a wide operating temperature range of -40 to +85 degrees C.

The oscillators are supplied in a small 1.5 x 0.8mm package size.

http://www.sitime.com

> Read More

Farnell extends Nordic Semiconductor offering with its first PMIC

The first power management IC (PMIC) from Nordic Semiconductor, the nPM1100, is now available from Farnell. Claimed to be the industry’s most compact PMIC, it is intended for wearable electronics, remote controls, personal medical devices and smart home sensors.

The nPM1100 can be used as a generic PMIC for any application using rechargeable Li-ion/Li-Po batteries, advised Farnell. PCB space requirements are as low as 23mm², makes it particularly well suited to be integrated into wearables, connected medical devices and projects which have limited space. No configuration software is required to operate as all settings are pin-configurable. It can be used to conserve energy in designs, and can charge small batteries while providing efficient power management in

The nPM1100-CAAA is a small form factor dedicated PMIC with a dual-mode configurable buck regulator and integrated battery charger. It is a complementary component to Nordic’s SoCs and also has over-voltage protection, low current mode and an operating range of -40 to +85 degrees C.

Farnell also offers the nPM1100 evaluation kit which does not require software to operate and is performance optimised for the PMIC with electrical connectors and physical interfaces for operation. It features switches for all selectable settings, buttons to enter and exit ship mode and connectors for batteries, USB and headers for all pins on the PMIC. The kit may be used with other development kits such as Nordic’s nRF5340-DK or it can be used to test the PMIC’s functionality with non-Nordic products. The kit also includes indicator LEDs for charge and error indication.

Nordic Semiconductor specialises in low power wireless technology with Bluetooth Low Energy solutions, complemented by ANT+, Bluetooth mesh, Thread, and Zigbee products.

Lee Turner, global head of semiconductors and single board computing at Farnell said: “We are pleased to expand our PMIC range with the latest products from Nordic Semiconductor. The . . .  nPM1100 is an ideal solution to help our customers reduce energy consumption in their designs. The ability to charge small batteries and extend battery life while providing efficient power management within small, space constrained applications, such as wearables and connected medical devices, is now of critical importance.”

http://www.farnell.com

> Read More

Rutronik adds Nordic Semiconductor’s PMIC

Offering efficient reliability in confined spaces, the Nordic nPM1100 is a dedicated power management IC (PMIC) with configurable dual-mode buck regulator and integrated battery charger. It is designed as a complementary component to Nordic‘s nRF52 and nRF53 series of SoCs and to ensure reliable power supply and stable operation while maximising battery life through high efficiency and low quiescent currents. It can also be used as a generic PMIC device, says Rutronik, which has added the nPM1100 to its portfolio.

The compact (2.075 x 2.075 mm) WLCSP package can be used in wearable devices, connected medical devices, smart home sensors and controls, remote controls and game controllers, and other size constrained applications, advises Rutronik.

The integrated battery charger is designed to charge lithium-ion and lithium-polymer batteries to a selectable termination voltage of 4.1 or 4.2V and supports cell chemistries with a nominal voltage of 3.6 or 3.7V respectively. The PMICe features thermal battery protection and automatic selection of three charging modes: automatic trickle charge, constant current and constant voltage.

The maximum charging current can be selected via a resistor from 20 up to 400mA. The charger also has a discharge current limiter and is JEITA-compliant.

The high-efficiency step-down regulator can deliver up to 150mA of current at a selectable output voltage of 1.8, 2.1, 2.7 or 3.0V. It features soft start and automatic transition between hysteresis and PWM modes. It also enables a forced PWM mode to ensure clean operation.

The nPM1100 has a low quiescent current, 700nA typical, 470nA in ship mode (deactivates the current output) and 150mA current limit. The PMIC also has over-voltage protection  and USB port detection for SDP, CDP and DCP.  There is also a driver for charging and error indication LED  and the nPM1100 evaluation kit.

http://www.rutronik24.com

> Read More

Compact battery chargers are dedicated to charging in tight spaces

As wearable, medical and smart sensor products use streamlined power management for energy harvesting hardware, e-peas has developed a family of battery charger devices, dedicated to charging. The company’s existing power management ICs (PMICs) offer direct power delivery to the application, as well as the charging of energy storage elements (such as Li-Ion batteries or super capacitors), but the AEM10900, AEM10300 and AEM30300 are fully dedicated to the charging function. This allows them to be used where a simpler implementation can be used and where there are space or cost constraints.

The PMICs achieve zero quiescent current draw from the battery. In other words, if energy harvesting stops for a prolonged period of time, the energy stored into the battery will not be wasted supplying the PMIC.

Working in conjunction with a single-cell photovoltaic panel, the integrated AEM10900 PMIC boost converter is optimised for solar-based energy harvesting implementations. It has a fast maximum power point tracking (MPPT) functionality designed for objects in movement. This allows the device to get the most energy from the ambient illumination available, storing as much as possible. It also has a 250mV cold start capability, which means it can commence with charging the battery even when light intensities are very low. AEM10900 introduces an I2C interface to minimise the pin count and to offer a larger set of potential configurations. The PMIC includes battery thermal protection, a joule counter to let the user know the amount of energy harvested, and a shipping mode in which the battery cannot be charged. The AEM10900 is suitable for wearable consumer products and body-worn medical monitoring equipment.

The AEM10300 and AEM30300 PMICs both have built-in low power DC/DC converters supporting operation over an input voltage range of 100mV to 4.5V. Adaptive energy management permits these devices to automatically switch between boost, buck-boost and buck operational configurations as deemed appropriate. This ensures that optimal energy transfer is always maintained between the respective inputs and the storage element.

The AEM10900, AEM10300 and AEM30300 battery chargers PMICs only require three external components, advises e-peas, for energy harvesting to be added while keeping the bill of materials costs low and taking up very little board space.

Geoffroy Gosset, CEO and co-founder of e-peas said: “Following on from in-depth consultations with our customer base, it became clear that having compact solutions for charging only was going to be of real value.”

The AEM10300 and AEM30300 PMICs are supplied in a 28-pin QFN package format, measuring 4.0 x 4.0mm and the AEM10900 is available in either the 28-pin QFN package or a 16-pin WLCSP (with 2.0 x 2.0mm dimensions).

http://www.e-peas.com

> Read More

About Smart Cities

This news story is brought to you by smartcitieselectronics.com, the specialist site dedicated to delivering information about what’s new in the Smart City Electronics industry, with daily news updates, new products and industry news. To stay up-to-date, register to receive our weekly newsletters and keep yourself informed on the latest technology news and new products from around the globe. Simply click this link to register here: Smart Cities Registration