Port-protection IC suited for USB-C dual-role power

The STMicroelectronics TCPP03-M20 USB Type-C port-protection IC is suited to Dual-Role Power (DRP) applications, simplifying the design of products that can act as a power source for connected devices as well as accepting power from other USB-C sources.

When used as a companion chip with STM32G0, STM32G4, STM32L5, and STM32U5 microcontrollers that contain ST’s UCPD (USB Type-C and Power Delivery) interface IP, the TCPP03-M20 enables a cost-effective partitioning of the USB Type-C implementation. Product designers can achieve a two-chip solution with the STM32 as the host microcontroller, saving bill-of-materials costs, PCB space, and circuit complexity.

As defined in the USB Type-C specification, a USB-C Dual Role device (such as a smart speaker, smartphone, tablet, laptop or camera) has the ability to dynamically change its power role from sink to source as well as their USB data role from device to host (and vice versa). This enables new use cases to preserve and share energy between battery-powered devices, as well as to extend device interoperability. The USB DRP capability defined in the Type-C specification allows any USB devices with the ST chip inside to charge the battery of a connected device.

The TCPP03-M20 is built with ST’s BCD process, recently accredited as an IEEE Milestone, to combine logic and high-voltage circuitry on the same chip, enhancing integration and reliability. The technology enables ±8kV ESD protection (IEC61000-4-2 Level 4), over-voltage, and over-current protection to be implemented on the same chip. These are needed to guard against unintended short-circuits or connection of defective equipment and comply with the USB-C Power Delivery specification. The chip integrates switches for the USB-C port V_CONN and CC lines, a charge pump with two N-channel MOSFET gate drivers for Source and Sink power path, V_BUS and V_CONN power-path discharge circuitry, and dead-battery management.

Suited to ultra-low power consumption, the TCPP03-M20 is dedicated to the USB DRP use case to ensure optimum efficiency. Standalone Power Sink and Power Source applications are handled using ST’s TCPP01-M12 and TCPP02-M18 BCD ICs respectively. Like all ST’s TCPP products, the TCPP03-M20 is compliant with the latest features of the USB-C PD specification 3.1 Standard Power Range (SPR), including PPS (Programmable Power Supply).

The STM32 Nucleo expansion board, X-NUCLEO-DRP1M1, and X-CUBE-TCPP STM32Cube expansion software with application code examples, are available to kickstart projects using the TCPP03-M20 for DRP applications up to 100W. Developers can also take advantage of support for UCPD configuration in STM32CubeMX, the STM32G071B-DISCO USB-C sniffer, and the STM32CubeMonitor-UCPD debug tool. The X-NUCLEO-SNK1M1 board is available for sink applications, and the X-NUCLEO-SRC1M1 for Power Delivery Source development is planned for release in Q4 2021.