Designers of portable Li-ion battery-powered electronics now have a simplified and more flexible way to add a USB Type-C (USB-C) charging system to their products with the MAX77860 3A switch-mode charger from Maxim Integrated.
To reduce design size as well as simplify the system hardware and software design, the MAX77860 integrates USB-C configuration channel (CC) port detection and a battery charger for 15 W applications. These integrated functions allow battery charging at the fastest rate possible under the USB-C specification and contribute to 30% smaller design size while also simplifying software development. The CC pin detection feature also shortens the design effort by eliminating the need to support end-to-end USB port connection and allowing charging to start automatically.
A wide range of consumer electronic devices are migrating to USB-C interfaces to support rapidly advancing communication and battery-charging capabilities, as well as smaller design size. In current designs, the host microprocessor is needed to detect the current level and configure the charger’s input current limit. While PCs, laptops and cell phones have driven early adoption, USB-C adoption rates are expected to grow at 8.5 percent a year through 2020 thanks to usage in other classes of portable devices, according to IDTechEx.
The new MAX77860 solution eliminates a separate port controller and many discrete components. Reduces the size of an inductor and a capacitor due to a high switching frequency of 2MHz/4MHz, and its high-efficiency buck reduces heat dissipation with more than 93 percent efficiency and up to 3A charging capability. Backward compatibility allows designs to work with both USB-C and legacy BC1.2 or proprietary adapters. An integrated analog-to-digital converter (ADC) frees up resources in the microcontroller, while providing accurate voltage and current measurements.
“The MAX77860 dramatically reduces system complexity by integrating the charger, the power path, the low-dropout regulator, the ADC and the USB-C CC detection in a small 3.9mm x 4.0mm package,” adds Perry Tsao, executive director, Mobile Solutions Business Unit at Maxim Integrated. “This level of integration simplifies the design, enabling the delivery of more power and more functionality in minimal printed circuit board space.”
The MAX77860 is available at Maxim’s website and select authorized distributors. The MAX77860EVKIT# evaluation kit is available for $70.
www.maximintegrated.com
