ICs TO BRING LONGER BATTERY LIFE

TO PORTABLE DEVICES
NAME: ANUP KUMAR PATEL
REG. NO.:16BEC0748
SLOT: B1
COURSE: ANALOG ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS (ECE2002)

BATTERY LIFE ESTIMATION:

There are several ways to estimate battery life, spanning hardware and software solutions.
Any viable solution should be accurate, low cost and robust, while not consuming too many
system resources.

One approach is to analyse each hardware component or module, calculate the current used
and time spent in each power mode, then aggregate the data to create a projected usage
profile. However, a first-pass analysis relies on datasheet power specifications, which will
vary widely from intended use cases. Initial accuracy isnt guaranteed due to part-to-part
variations and estimation error. Significant hardware testing is also required to overcome
initial inaccuracies and obtain an accurate profile. While this method brings a good
approximation, it is not robust over time and will vary due to hardware tolerances.

If the device has an operating system, the energy usage of different firmware or software
routines can be measured during development and stored in memory. The operating system
now has a way to correlate firmware/software routines with battery usage, as the total battery
usage can be tracked in software whenever a routine is executed or application is started. This
approach is not robust to software changes and requires continuous tuning, which can be
costly. As operating systems and programs are upgraded, this approach requires continual
testing to maintain accuracy.

NEW CLASS OF ICs: POWER MONITORING ICs

While none of these methods perform direct hardware power measurement, power
monitoring ICs address part of the problem. In a power monitoring IC, a rails voltage and
current are measured and combined to provide an instantaneous power reading. Instead of
tasking the system with reading two channels separately to obtain voltage and current data,
then calculating power in firmware, the system host can read a single channel from a power
monitor to get instantaneous power data. Power monitors can feature high- or low side
current sensing and output the data as an analogue voltage, current or digital read-back.

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An example of a power monitor IC is the MAX44298,
which uses an external resistor divider for sensing
voltages over a wide range and a low-side current
sense resistor. It features three current outputs for
instantaneous voltage, current and power.

The analogue output format makes this part handy for

all-analogue control loops. It can also be read by an
external A/D converter, with a load resistor, to provide
digital data for monitoring and control. It is not always
convenient to have the sense resistors and power
monitor next to the A/D converter, so the
MAX44928s current output can be routed across a
lengthy board trace with better noise immunity than if
it were a voltage output.

Although instantaneous power is given, the system is

still tasked with storing and computing power over
time. Depending on the desired time resolution, this
computation can quickly require a large amount of
memory and instructions. If multiple rails require
monitoring, the problem scales proportionally.

ANALOGUE DESIGN:
In a mobile device, the list of rails and modules which needs to be monitored in order to
provide accurate battery usage can be extensive system power, CPU, wireless, memory,
display backlight and control, storage, cameras, touch, audio, GPS and sensors. While the
concept of hardware power accumulation and methods to measure it has existed for decades,
implementing this functionality in hardware has always brought trade-offs. Power monitoring
ICs have many valuable uses, but do not address directly the estimation of energy usage of
many rails in hardware.

The need to monitor instantaneous power, combined with the ability to accumulate
measurements over time, has led to the emergence of the power accumulator IC. In addition
to measuring voltage and current, a power accumulator IC stores this data until the system is
ready to read it. The MAX34407, supplied in a 2.3 x 2.2mm package, manages power
accumulation of four different channels for up to 17 minutes.

Although adding a hardware component to increase battery life is counter-intuitive, the part
uses less than 1mW when operating continuously. Easing the demand on the system to track
energy use accurately allows hardware and software design teams to make informed design
choices that optimise battery life.

For cost-limited or space-constrained applications, allocating an additional component for

hardware power accumulation is unimaginable. While that functionality may be desired,
many system designers cannot justify using a part like the MAX34407. However, another
solution offers similar functionality and leverages a socket in every portable design the fuel
gauge IC. Maxims MAX17055 combines the ModelGauge m5 fuel gauging algorithm with
the ability to provide hardware power accumulation. Figure 3 shows how the MAX17055 can

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be connected to serve as a fuel gauge. The part reports instantaneous and average values of
voltage, current, temperature, and power. With the inclusion of the EZ Config feature, a
battery does not need to be characterised before it can be used with the Model Gauge
algorithm.

The trade-off between power accumulation at the system rail level and power accumulation at
the fuel gauge level is the ability to look at absolute power usage versus relative power usage.
Modern operating systems provide tools for managing battery life and often recommend the
use of hardware power accumulators to perform direct measurements on each rail in use. If a
design calls for a large number of rails to be monitored in a compact space, the MAX34407
should be considered for low and medium voltage applications.

Fig: fuel gauging is a typical application for the MAX17055

BIBLOGRAPHY:
www.newelectronics.co.uk
Author profile
Mohamed Ismail is a senior member of the technical staff, applications, with Maxim
Integrated.

Author
Mohamed Ismail

Websites

http://www.maximintegrated.com/en.html

Companies

Maxim Integrated Products UK Ltd

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