Power management IC cuts Bill of Materials by 60 %

It has an integrated switch-mode buck-boost charger and it delivers over four hours of play time after a short, ten-minute charge, and uses a single inductor to power multiple rails, reducing the bill of materials (BOM) by 60 % and shrinking total solution size by 50 %. The MAX77659 SIMO PMIC integrates a switch-mode buck-boost charger and three independently programmable buck-boost regulators, all sharing a single inductor to minimize total solution size.

The regulators extend battery life by operating at 91 % efficiency during moderate to heavy load conditions while consuming only 5µA of quiescent current during light load conditions. Autonomous headroom control is supported, which reduces heat dissipation by minimising the voltage drop while providing enough headroom to regulate the charging current. “Analog Devices’ SIMO product technology shrinks size and boosts performance in the smallest of hearable and wearable devices,” said Roger Yeung, Executive Business Manager for the Battery Power Solutions Business Unit at Maxim Integrated, now part of Analog Devices. “The MAX77659 brings the ‘on-the-go’ lifestyle to the next level by minimising plug-in time and maximising play time. The MAX77659 PMIC frees up board real estate to pack in additional features such as expanded memory storage, location tracking and vital sensing demanded by today’s portable consumer and medical devices.”

The PMIC is offered in a tiny 30-bump wafer level package (WLP) that measures 2.55 mm x 2.37mm.

Use of a single inductor and integration of the charger reduces the bill of materials by 60 % for a total solution size of just 22mm², small enough, says Analog Devices, for the most compact wearable and hearable applications.

The MAX77659 is available as of now in a 30-bump 2.55mm x 2.37mm x 0.5mm WLP package, along with the MAX77659EVKIT.