Three new power management integrated circuits (PMICs) from e-peas provide product developers with greater scope to implement energy harvesting systems. These devices provide constant input voltage regulation, optimizing them for intermittent and pulsed power inputs, and complement the company’s existing ambient energy manager (AEM) family.
The AEM00330 is a full power management chip, whereas the AEM00300 is a storage element charger. Both are self-configurable, with the ability to automatically switch between buck, buck-boost and boost operation. This enables faster adjustments with different source, storage and load arrangements (step-up, step-down) and maximizes these devices’ energy transfer capabilities. They have been designed to respond instantly to the power input once a pre-defined threshold has been exceeded — leading to quick and effective energy extraction.
The operating input voltage range is 140 mV to 4.5 V, so power levels of 3 µW to 570 mW can be managed. Another key feature is the ability to swap from powering the load or the storage element, giving greater flexibility in applications where there should be initial focus on one or the other. Among the potential uses for these devices are door access systems, smart switches for smart home or smart building, point-of-sales units and smart running shoes.
The AEM00940 is a boost solution designed for supporting high efficiency energy transfer from sources having a lower voltage than the storage element. It has a low dropout-based output rather than a DC/DC-based one. The selectable operating input voltage spans from 50 mV to 4.5 V.
Source: e-peas
As well as pulsed and intermittent sources, these three PMICs are highly suited to use with sources that require a long time to reach their open-circuit. All three devices have complete storage element versatility, allowing them to be applied to energy harvesting implementations with single and dual cell supercapacitors, lithium-ion, lithium iron phosphate, lithium-phosphate, nickel-cadmium, thin film batteries and solid-state batteries. Each has selectable and adjustable storage element protection mechanisms, covering over-charge and over-discharge.
