New Industry Products

Complete Integrated Power Management Solution for Wearables

January 09, 2019 by Scott McMahan

Active-Semi introduces its first ultra-low-power ActiveCiPS™ PMIC, the ACT81460, with its fully integrated charger, buck, buck/boost and boost converters, LDOs, Load Switches and GPIOs targeting the wearable market, battery-operated personal devices, IOT modules, as well as cameras & DVRs.

The ACT81460 from Active-Semi integrates a full solution for the wearable market with standby quiescent current designed to prolong battery life. The wearable PMIC has fully integrated power stages with a high switching frequency of 2.25MHz (1.125Mhz) to reduce external component size.

It features a JEITA compliant Active Power Path Linear Charger (APLC™) that integrates a 20V smart switch offering protection from faulty chargers or potential high voltage from USB - PD sources. The PMIC also includes a programmable input current limit, dynamic voltage limit and other configurable charging parameters including charge rate, battery termination voltage and currents, and battery temperature sense. The fully integrated, 3.3MHz switching frequency DC/DC converters enable the use of small external components. The device can also use a full range of protection features.

Typical Application Diagram (Click on image to enlarge.)

The ACT81460 integrates a highly efficient Buck/Boost converter for peripherals, such as an optical heart rate sensor, to use the full capacity of the battery to as low as 2.7V. The integrated high voltage Boost converter can be used for speaker drivers, haptics/vibrations, or LED backlighting.

The ACT81460 offers a broad range of power channels with the DC/DC converters and a group of load switches and LDOs. The highly configurable ACT81460 comes pre-programmed or can be modified via the I2C interface in the field. The low quiescent currents in each of the regulators and the battery charger translates to extremely high efficiency even with light and near zero load current conditions including those in common wearable applications. According to Active-Semi, the high efficiency of the ACT81460 dramatically prolongs battery life. The device sips less than 0.7mA of current even with all of the regulators turned on.

"The ACT81460 integrates Active-Semi's control algorithm, Active Constant On-Time control (ACOT™), which enables fast dynamic response to load changes while enabling the design of extremely low quiescent current regulators. With several configurable low power states, the ACT81460 gives the system architect the capability to disable functional blocks when they are not needed to extend battery life and the ability to optimize power usage under different conditions. This extends the time between battery charges," says David Briggs, VP and General Manager of Power Solutions at Active-Semi. "We understand that our customers prefer to utilize the same power solution across multiple products. With Active's Configurable innovative Power Solutions (ActiveCiPS™), Active-Semi can factory program variations of the ACT81460 enabling a streamlined purchasing channel and offering flexibility for our customers to optimize the configuration of the device for use in multiple product platforms"

The ACT81460 comes in a 3.3x3.3 49pin WLCSP package. Samples and production volume are available through our distribution channel. The device's integrated sequences result in easy system-level design with programmable reset and power. According to Active-Semi, Good functionality allows for flexible sequencing options. The company says that with external supplies via integrated GPIOs and Power Good signals, the device provides seamless sequencing. Also, with the help of a I2C uP interface for status reporting, and controlling the device is highly configurable.

  • 4 to 5.5V Input with 20V Protection
  • 0.8A Linear Charger
  • Four High-Efficiency DCDC Converters
  • Three LDOs
  • Three Load Switches
  • Four Configurable GPIOs
  • I2C Serial Interface
  • Reset and Power Sequencing
  • Minimal External Component Count
  • Two Low Power Modes