Energy harvesting ICs from Fujitsu harness energy from multiple sources at a time
Date: 29/05/2013
Fujitsu Semiconductor has unveiled two power ICs to power devices from harvested energy. The two chips MB39C811 and MB89C31 can provide regulated DC voltage from sources such as solar, thermal, or kinetic sources. These devices help in store the harvested energy in batteries to power devices such as wireless sensor networks, wearable electronics products, and similar applications.
The MB39C811 is a buck type converter with a dual, full-wave bridge rectifier is optimized for high-output impedance energy sources such as piezoelectric transducers or microelectro-mechanical systems (MEMS). The MB39C811 has eight preset output voltages ranging from 1.5V to 5V, and covers continuous output current up to 100mA. Quiescent current is only 1.5 uA. MB39C811 is capable of harvesting energy simultaneously from both light and vibration sources using a single PMIC device.
The MB39C831 is a boost type converter for solar or thermal energy harvesting with maximum power point tracking (MPPT) to charge a Li-Ion battery. The device can charge into a Li-ion battery with a single solar cell and a multi-junction solar cell or thermal electric generator (TEG). The device can extract the maximum power point of the power source and safely charge Li-ion batteries using its protection function. The MB39C831 works from a low voltage of 0.35V making it suitable for single solar cell.
“Our two new PMICs are certified by Fujitsu as ‘Super Green’ products, meaning that they have superior environmental characteristics compared to other products on the market,” said Takuya Okajima, senior manager of applications engineering. “The devices will significantly further the successful commercialization of energy-harvesting technologies and contribute to Fujitsu’s goal of helping to reduce the global carbon footprint.”
The MB39C811 and MB39C831 will be available by mid-June in 40-pin QFN packages.
