e-peas' energy harvesting PMICs for remote units at CES 2024

The newly introduced PMICs, AEM00920 and AEM10920, seamlessly integrate advanced features, including maximising transfer of energy harvested from Photovoltaic (PV) cells, efficiently storing energy in off-the-shelf storage elements, and delivering a reliable power supply for the application circuitry.

These innovative PMICs reach up to 95% energy conversion efficiency from the harvester to the storage element. AEM00920 is optimised for PV cells featuring constant voltage regulation between 0.25V and 3.2V, while AEM10920 is optimised for PV cells with light dependent maximum power point, ranging from 0.25V to 3.2V, with configurable MPPT ratio from 35% to 90%.

Storage elements like Hybrid Lithium capacitors, small Lithium-Ion batteries, or even triple NiMH cells require dedicated protection mechanism that are implemented in these PMICs. A specific 5V boost circuitry has been integrated in both devices allowing designers to add a quick charge boost function to their product design.

On the application side, both AEM00920 and AEM10920 provide an efficient energy conversion path to the application thanks to the integrated buck DC/DC converter. GPIO configuration enables easy output voltage selection with output voltage range of 2.2V, 2.5V, or 2.8V interfacing the most recent connectivity chipsets. Both PMICs offer ultra-low cold-start allowing the application to start even in low light conditions.

New control and configuration features introduced in both devices include a shipping mode to protect the storage element from being drained during shipment. Thanks to their high level of integration, both ICs simplify system development and minimise bill-of-materials.

Both AEM00920 and AEM10920 are available in a 24-pin QFN package with a board footprint of 4 x 4sqmm. AEM00920 is available for sampling now, AEM10920 will come later in January 2024.