Power Switching Regulator with Low Quiescent Current Extends Battery Life in Internet of Things Designs

Published  July 16, 2019   0
Power Switching Regulator with Low Quiescent Current Extends Battery Life in Internet of Things Designs

Texas Instruments (TI) today launched an ultra-low-power switching regulator TPS62840 with the lowest possible operating quiescent current (IQ) at 60 nA. The TPS62840 synchronous step-down converter delivers very high light-load efficiency of 80% at 1-µA load enabling designers to extend the battery life of their systems, or use fewer or smaller batteries to shrink their overall power supply solution size and reduce cost. Also, the DC/DC converter’s wide input voltage (VIN) range of 1.8 V to 6.5 V supports a variety of battery chemistries and configurations which make it flexible for wide applications.

 

The features and its selectable functions makes the device well suited for engineers to solve critical design challenges in many battery-powered, always-on industrial and personal electronics applications – including narrow-band Internet of Things (IoT), grid infrastructure equipment and wearables – that require more flexibility, an extended wireless range, improved accuracy and reduced electromagnetic interference (EMI).  The TPS62840 device is a highly integrated, low-IQ DC/DC converters that enable designers to maximize power delivery in the smallest possible solution size.

 

Key features and benefits of the TPS62840:

  • Longer battery life, very high light-load efficiency: The lower quiescent current (IQ) enable longer battery life with light load systems(less than 100µA) operating primarily in standby/ship mode (not switching) and reaches the efficiency up to 80% at 1-µA load.
  • Selectable modes enhance performance, lower overall cost: The selectable mode and stop functions of the device help to remove noise increasing performance and reducing signal distortion benefitting designers to lower overall solution cost and achieving the system requirements without using more expensive precision signal-chain components, sensors or radio solutions to perform the same functions.
  • Smaller solution size:  The designers can use the new switching regulator to cut their battery count in half or use smaller batteries in their design. For example, designers can save up to 16,980 mm3 using four AAAs instead of four AAs.
  • Flexible VIN broadens applications: The devices comes in wide range of input voltages such as 1.8 VIN-6.5 VIN accommodating multiple battery chemistries and configurations, such as two lithium manganese dioxide (2s-LiMnO2) cells in series, single-cell lithium thionyl chloride (1xLiSOCL2), four-cell and two-cell alkaline, and lithium polymer (Li-Po).

 

Pre-production samples of the TPS62840 are now available through the TI store in the following packages: 8-pin small outline no-lead (SON), measuring 1.5 mm by 2.0 mm; 6-pin wafer chip scale package (WCSP), measuring 0.97 mm by 1.47 mm. An 8-pin thermally enhanced package (HVSSOP), measuring 3 mm by 5 mm, will become available later this year. Pricing starts at US$0.85 in 1,000-unit quantities. The TPS62840-1DLCEVM55 and TPS62840-1YBGEVM56 evaluation modules are available for US$49 each.