Maxim Integrated’s Next-Generation SIMO Power Management IC

Cuts Solution Size by Half and Extends Battery Life by 20 Percent for Wearables and Hearables

Breakthrough SIMO technology replaces traditional power management architectures, reducing BOM count by up to 40 percent for compact consumer devices

MUNICH, Germany – April 7, 2020 – Designers of compact consumer devices can now slash solution size by half and extend battery life by 20 percent with the MAX77654 single inductor, multiple output (SIMO) power management IC (PMIC) from Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. (NASDAQ: MXIM). This next-generation SIMO PMIC delivers 3 outputs with just one inductor at 91 percent efficiency, which is 16 percent greater than traditional 4-chip systems. With significantly reduced solution size, system designers can pack more functionality in their applications such as wearables, hearables and other compact consumer devices when compared to using traditional power solutions. The MAX77654 builds on Maxim Integrated’s robust portfolio of SIMO PMICs.

As designers continue their quest to shrink form factors for compact consumer devices, they must also consider extending battery life (or shrinking battery volume), as well as reducing heat dissipation and noise. The MAX77654 SIMO PMIC addresses space-constraint challenges for system designers by replacing 3 buck-boost converters, 3 inductors with a single converter and a single inductor. It also replaces 2 LDOs/load-switches, a battery charger and additional passives, resulting in a 50 percent smaller solution. The MAX77654 improves end-user experience with 20 percent longer battery life by delivering 91 percent efficiency. With less than 500nA shutdown current and a low supply current of 6µA with 5 regulators operating, designers can add more functions to their ultra-low-power consumer devices. The MAX77654 yields lower heat dissipation and reduces system board temperature by more than 20 degrees Celsius when compared against an alternative single inductor system power solution. Additionally, this SIMO PMIC provides superior output voltage ripple performance of less than 20mVp-p for noise sensitive rails.  

Key Advantages

• Smallest Solution Size: Highly integrated, three-output buck-boost converter delivers a 19mm² solution size that is 50 percent smaller than traditional discrete solutions. It consists of a SIMO PMIC, nine capacitors and an inductor.
• Longer Battery Life: With 91 percent efficiency, as well as 500nA shutdown current and 6µA supply current, this solution provides 20 percent longer battery life and 7 times lower heat dissipation compared to discrete solutions.
• Cost-Effective Solution: Offers up to 40 percent fewer components and 23 percent lower BOM cost compared to discrete solutions.

Commentary

“Size and power constraints are defining next-generation IoT consumer system designs, and engineers are finding it harder to cram all the high-performance demands and capabilities into these tiny form factors,” said Kevin Anderson, senior analyst for Power Semiconductors at Omdia. “Maxim Integrated’s ingenious SIMO PMIC design offers designers flexibility to add new capabilities while also reducing size and improving battery life.”

“Maxim Integrated’s breakthrough scalable SIMO PMIC, MAX77654, offers the smallest form factor solution with the highest system efficiency,” said Karthi Gopalan, director, Mobile Solutions Business Unit at Maxim Integrated. “The MAX77654 SIMO PMIC frees up board real estate to pack value-add modules such as voice commands, payment, GPS receivers, biometrics, gesture control, 3-D recognition and camera.”