First Energy Harvesting PMIC from e-peas to Manage Two Independent Energy Sources at Once
With AEM13920, you may deploy the best combination of thermal, kinetic, radio frequency, and PV energy sources for your application.
The top provider of energy harvesting integrated circuits (ICs), e-peas, introduced its first PMIC that can manage simultaneous inputs from two different harvested energy sources.
With the new AEM13920, you can get the most energy out of any pair of sources, whether they be thermoelectric generators (TEGs), photovoltaic (PV) cells, RF energy harvesters, or pulsed (kinetic) energy sources. Prior to the release of the AEM13920, dedicated PMICs were developed to be used with just one kind of energy harvesting.
Intriguing new design possibilities for the use of energy harvesting in small electronics devices, including remote controls, PC peripherals, wireless sensors, and more, are made possible by the flexible dual-source capabilities. To maintain an energy input whether the item is left face up or face down, a remote control, for example, could feature separate PV cells on its front and rear. A smart wireless light switch may use stored mechanical or light energy for lengthier tasks, such as downloading and installing a firmware update, and mechanical energy for short RF broadcasts.
The AEM13920 offers a complete power management solution that maximizes energy recovery from the source in these and other applications. E-peas has also included useful new features for system optimization and security in the AEM13920.
Higher than 90% source-to-storage and storage-to-load conversion efficiencies are attained by the PMIC. The quantity of energy extracted from each type of harvester is maximized by using separate maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithms for each source and an extremely low cold-start input condition of 275 mV/5 W. Constant source-voltage regulation is another option available with the AEM13920.
Because the AEM13920 implements all the functionalities necessary to store and utilise energy from an external harvester in a single chip, using it facilitates power-system development and reduces component count and bill-of-materials cost. The supply to the storage element is controlled by two separate on-chip boost converters that convert the source voltage. The output from the storage element is changed to a fixed voltage between 0.6 V and 2.5 V needed by the application using a different on-chip buck regulator. In the event of a protracted period of operation without an input from an energy harvester, the AEM13920 also controls a 5 V power input that can be utilized to charge the storage element.
The AEM13920 includes new control and setup capabilities like:
- Average Power Monitoring is a circuit that measures the overall energy delivered to the load as well as the total energy transferred from each of the two sources to storage. This makes it possible for the host microcontroller to monitor system performance closely and determine the storage element's state of charge.
- I2C interface for the host MCU to control 33 register settings and for reading system data
Additionally, the AEM13920 provides a comprehensive range of system monitoring and security functions, such as:
- Monitoring the storage element's temperature
- Limits for overcharging and overdischarging that can be chosen to protect the storage element
- Shipping method that safeguards the storage component
The AEM13920 is available in a 40-pin QFN package with a board footprint of 5mm x 5mm and is compatible with a wide range of rechargeable batteries and storage elements, including lithium-polymer, LiFP, and li-ceramic batteries, as well as hybrid lithium capacitors. You can currently sample it.
