ST adds development board to embed USB Type-C
A USB-IF-certified development board by STMicroelectronics provides a reference for, and is designed to promote reuse and reliable interoperability of, existing USB-C fast chargers and cables with USB Power Delivery (PD) support in a range of products. Target applications include smart speakers, power tools, wearables, robots, gaming controllers, power banks and drones.
USB PD chargers can dynamically adjust current and voltage using the USB programmable power supply (PPS). To support migration from traditional USB to USB-C, the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) certified evaluation board is designed for up to 100W PPS USB power sinking devices (PSD) to accelerate new designs and support the certification of the end product.
The USB-IF TID: 3036 combines ST’s Nucleo-G071RB and X-Nucleo-USBPDM1 development boards. The Nucleo-G071RB features an STM32G0 microcontroller, believed to be the industry’s first general-purpose microcontroller to integrate a USB Type-C PD controller on-chip. The X-Nucleo-USBPDM1 board contains ST’s TCPP01-M12 companion chip for port protection.
The TCPP01-M12 companion high-voltage analogue front end integrates a charge pump to control the gate of an external power switch, which lets designers choose from economical N-channel MOSFETs that have lower RDS(on) than P-channel versions. There is also a low-power mode that draws 0nA when no cable is attached, enabling longer battery runtime.
The protection features in the TCPP01-M12 include adjustable 5.0 to 22V overvoltage protection on VBUS, short-to-VBUS protection on configuration channel pins, dead-battery management, and IEC 61000-4-2 ESD protection up to ±8kV on VBUS and CC lines. The QFN12 package occupies 80 per cent less board space than a discrete implementation, claims ST.
