Ameya360:Nordic Expands PMIC Portfolio

　　Nordic Semiconductor is adding three new product variants to its nPM1100 power management IC product range. Until now, the range has only been available in an ultra-compact 2.1-by-2.1mm chip-scale package (CSP) form factor.

　　The first new variant comes in a more mainstream 4-by-4mm QFN component package. CSPs are an absolute requirement for products defined by extreme size constraints. However, when this is not a factor, QFNs allow for easier and cheaper manufacturing as well as simplified design, development, and verification. QFNs also offer greater thermal and vibration robustness compared to CSPs.

　　The second and third new nPM1100 variants support higher maximum (termination) battery charging voltages (VTERM) that are required to fully charge certain types of lithium-ion cells commonly used in portable wireless products. These variants will also be offered in either a CSP or QFN package.

　　Termination voltage is the maximum voltage a battery should reach during charging. It is used by the battery charger circuit to switch from constant current charging to constant voltage charging and is ultimately used to determine when a battery is fully charged, and so when to stop charging.

　　All Nordic nPM1100 variants require no configuration software to operate as all settings are pin configurable.

　　“Chip-scale packages are amazing in their miniaturization,” said Geir Kjosavik, Product Director PMIC at Nordic Semiconductor. “In its smallest CSP configuration, the nPM1100 solution only takes up 23mm2 of board space including passive components. However, the product’s ultra-high power management efficiency and ease-of-use bring tremendous value to battery-powered applications where space constraints are not so strict, and so the use of a QFN package is often preferable.”

　　Kjosavik said the previous nPM1100’s maximum termination voltage was below that of some increasingly popular lithium-ion batteries used in wearable products. The new nPM1100 variants with higher termination voltage will now maximize the application range and power optimization potential of Nordic’s power management ICs to all portable electronics products.

　　The all new nPM1100 product variants are in volume production and available to order now. A new version of the existing evaluation kit (nPM1100 EK) for evaluating the higher termination voltage will be available end of Q1 (nPM1100 EKHV).