Micro DC/DC converter can extend appliance battery life, says Torex
A voltage selectable function step down DC/DC converter by Torex Semiconductor, the XCL233, has 200nA low quiescent current output which provides low voltage during standby to extend battery life of small appliances.
The XCL232 series is a 150mA step down synchronous rectification micro DC/DC converter which has an output voltage selectable function with a low power consumption circuit and PFM control. The VSET function switches between two output voltages by signal input. When this function is mounted on a low power microcontroller with a wide operating voltage range, it provides low voltage during standby and high voltage during operations such as sensor communication to efficiently drive devices, explained Torex Semiconductor. The result is that the DC/C converter can “dramatically extend the battery life of small appliances,” said the company.
The power consumption of microcontrollers and SoCs is getting lower, and the efficiency of output current range (several microA to 10 microA) during sleep is important for battery life, explained the company. The efficiency of traditional DC/DC converters is less than 20 per cent but the efficiency of XCL233 is more than 80 per cent, according to the company. In addition, a low output voltage from 0.5V can be selected, which makes it suitable for low voltage SoCs.
Torex has integrated a control IC and coil which makes it possible to achieve high efficiency from light load and low EMI by simply attaching two small ceramic capacitors externally. The XCL233 series is suitable for IoT / mobile / wearable and all devices that require an improved lifetime and where small size, saving area, high efficiency performance at a light load current are important.
TorexSemiconductor provides CMOS power management ICs targeted for battery powered and energy efficient applications. Torex specialises in CMOS analogue technology, with LDO voltage regulators, voltage detectors and DC/DC converters making up the core product offering.
