6th July 2021 – Addressing the need for streamlined power management solutions for energy harvesting hardware, e-peas has unveiled a new family of Ultra-Efficient Battery Chargers. These devices, including the AEM10900, AEM10300, and AEM30300 (Vibration and RF), are specifically designed for efficient energy harvesting and power management in wearable consumer products, medical monitoring equipment, and smart sensor products.
While the company’s existing power management ICs (PMICs) offer direct power delivery to applications and charge energy storage elements, the new battery charger devices are dedicated solely to the charging function. This allows for simpler implementation in situations where space or cost constraints are critical. Notably, these PMICs achieve zero quiescent current draw from the battery, ensuring that stored energy is preserved even if energy harvesting ceases for an extended period.
Optimized for Solar-Based Energy Harvesting
The highly-integrated AEM10900 PMIC boost converter is optimized for solar-based energy harvesting implementations. It works seamlessly with single-cell photovoltaic panels. Featuring super-fast power point tracking (MPPT) functionality specifically designed for objects in motion, this device maximizes energy capture from ambient light. Additionally, it has a 250mV cold start capability, allowing battery charging even at very low light intensities.
The AEM10900 introduces an I2C interface to minimize the pin count and offers a broader range of potential configurations. Key features include battery thermal protection, a joule counter to monitor energy harvested, and a shipping mode that prevents battery charging. This PMIC is ideal for wearable consumer products and body-worn medical monitoring equipment.
Adaptive Energy Management
The AEM10300 and AEM30300 PMICs both include ultra-low power DC/DC converters supporting operation over an input voltage range of 100mV to 4.5V. Adaptive energy management allows these devices to automatically switch between boost, buck-boost, and buck operational configurations as needed. This ensures optimal energy transfer between the input sources and the storage element, making them perfect for wearable consumer products and smart sensor products.
Compact and Efficient Design
All these new battery charger devices require only three external components, enabling the addition of energy harvesting functionality while keeping the bill-of-materials costs low and conserving board space. These compact and efficient power management solutions are perfect for energy harvesting hardware applications in various sectors.
“As e-peas’ business matures and we continue to gain ever greater commercial traction, we must look to provide a more expansive portfolio of PMIC options to the market,” states Geoffroy Gosset, CEO & co-founder. “Following in-depth consultations with our customer base, it became clear that having compact solutions for charging only was going to be of real value. With these newly introduced devices, we can better serve the wearable, healthcare, consumer, and industrial sectors, supporting them with technology that meets their needs in terms of performance, size, and price point.”
Flexible Packaging Options
The AEM10300 and AEM30300 PMICs are both supplied in a 28-pin QFN package format (4mm x 4mm dimensions), while the AEM10900 is available in either the 28-pin QFN package or a 16-pin WLCSP (2mm x 2mm dimensions) package for even greater space savings. These battery charger devices offer unparalleled flexibility and efficiency for energy harvesting hardware applications.
About e-peas
e-peas develops and markets disruptive ultra-low power semiconductor technology. This enables industrial and IoT wireless product designers to substantially extend battery lifespans and eliminate the heavy call-out costs of replacing batteries, without in any way compromising on reliability. Relying on 15 years of research and patented intellectual property, the company’s products increase the amount of harvested energy and drastically reduce the energy consumption of all power consuming blocks within wireless sensor nodes. Headquartered in Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium, with additional offices in Switzerland and the USA, e-peas offers a portfolio of energy harvesting power management interface ICs, microcontrollers and sensor solutions. www.e-peas.com
Contact e-peas
Email: sales@e-peas.com
