Power through the air

Another theme at APEC was that of higher wireless charging levels. This demo at the ST Microelectronics booth used the firm’s STWBC-EP IC for the Qi Extended Power (15 W) profile, said to let smartphones and tablets charge up three times faster than before. The device consuming 16 mW in standby and wirelessly transfers more than 80% of the total input power. The system wakes up quickly when a compatible object is presented for charging and cuts power to prevent overheating if objects containing metals come too close. The demo used ST’s reference design with a Qi 15-W transmitter board to power a blinding array of LEDs.
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