ROHM Semiconductor announced the availability of a new evaluation board, the REFLVBMS001-EVK-001, which facilitates the verification of the operation of ultra-efficient battery management solutions for the expanding IoT field.

Recent years have seen the proliferation of battery-driven electronic devices, including wearables, industrial IoT (e.g., smart cards and electronic shelf labels), and portables. These devices not only need to be smaller and thinner to improve design and functionality, but they must also support larger battery capacities and lower power consumption to improve usability and convenience.

In response, ROHM has developed a variety of low consumption analog ICs, including both power supply ICs that incorporate original Nano Energy ultra-low current technology, as well as charge control ICs compatible with a wide range of rechargeable batteries. Providing optimized power solutions to meet market challenges allows ROHM to contribute to the long-term operation of battery-powered applications. The newly released evaluation board, REFLVBMS001-EVK-001, provides an ultra-high efficiency battery management solution for thin, compact IoT devices by combining these technologies.

The REFLVBMS001-EVK-001 is equipped with a power supply IC (buck DC/DC converter IC) and reset IC (voltage detector IC) utilizing original Nano Energy ultra-low current consumption technology. In addition, it consists of a battery charger IC that supports low-voltage rechargeable batteries, along with the NGK INSULATORS’s thin, large capacity EnerCera li-ion rechargeable battery. The ultra-low current consumption of the power supply IC (quiescent current 180nA) minimizes loss. The battery charger IC is suitable for a wide range of charge voltages; it is capable of charging, monitoring, and discharging batteries, making it ideally suited for compact IoT devices. The result is a low-profile, ultra-efficient battery management solution that achieves a thickness of just 0.60mm for mounted components (including the thin rechargeable battery).

Going forward, ROHM will continue to develop high-performance, power-saving analog ICs (such as power supply ICs) that contribute to greater power efficiency in a wide range of applications