Power Management (PMIC)
1. What is Power Management (PMIC)?
Power Management IC (PMIC) is a highly integrated dedicated chip responsible for the distribution, conversion, and monitoring of electrical energy in electronic devices. Its core value lies in the integration of multiple power outputs (such as buck/boost converters, LDO regulators, battery management, etc.) on a single chip, which significantly simplifies system design, reduces size and improves energy efficiency, especially for portable devices with limited space (such as smart wearables and IoT terminals).
2. What are the Core Functions and Technical Features of Power Management (PMIC)?
2.1 Multi-voltage Management
DC-DC Converter: Supports high-efficiency buck, boost, and buck-boost conversion, covering an output range of 0.7V–5V, meeting the voltage requirements of different modules such as CPU and memory.
LDO Regulator: Provides low-noise, low-dropout linear voltage regulation, suitable for RF/analog circuits that are sensitive to power supply noise.
2.2 Battery System Optimization
1) Charge and Discharge Management: Support constant current and constant voltage charging of lithium-ion/polymer batteries (adjustable current 4–100mA), integrated overcharge/overdischarge/overtemperature protection circuits.
2) Precise Power Metering:
Innovative Algorithm: Based on voltage, current, temperature monitoring, and battery mathematical model (such as Nordic nPM1304), it achieves ±0.275% accuracy, comparable to a coulomb meter but with lower power consumption (only 8μA in active state, 0μA in sleep state).
Comparison with Traditional Solution: A dedicated power meter consumes 50μA (active sstate), which seriously affects the battery life of small devices.
2.3 System-level Control and Protection
Sequence Control: Start and stop each power rail on demand to avoid power-on surge damage to devices.
Multi-protocol Interface: Dynamically adjust output voltage/current through I²C/SPI communication, supporting remote monitoring.
Fault Protection: built-in OVP/UVP (over/under voltage), OCP (overcurrent), OTP (overtemperature), and other multiple protection mechanisms.
3. What are the Typical Application Scenarios of Power Management (PMIC)?
|
Field |
Representative Products |
Key Role of PMIC |
|
Consumer Electronics |
Smart rings, sports bracelets |
Ultra-low power management (such as nPM1304), extending the life of small batteries |
|
Industrial Equipment |
Industrial control host, sensor node |
Multi-channel regulated output (23 channels), simplified power supply topology |
|
Automotive Electronics |
In-vehicle infotainment system, BMS |
Wide voltage input (48V/24V), high reliability power rail management |
|
Primary Battery Equipment |
Wireless keyboard and mouse, asset tracker |
Boost efficiency 95%+ (such as nPM2100), squeeze the remaining energy of the battery |
4. Technology Evolution and Industry Benchmarks of Power Management (PMIC)
4.1 Energy Efficiency Breakthroughs
Nordic nPM2100: designed for non-rechargeable batteries, the power consumption in transport mode is reduced to microamperes, and the battery life is increased by 30%+.
AXP15060: Integrated 6-way DC-DC + 17-way LDO, a single chip solves the power supply of complex systems.
4.2 Intelligent Trend
Dynamic Voltage Regulation (DVS): Real-time voltage adjustment according to load to reduce idle power consumption.
Multi-chip Collaboration: Deep optimization with the main control SoC (such as nRF54 series) to achieve power consumption-performance balance.
5. Selection Recommendations and Design Points for Power Management (PMIC)
Space Priority: Choose WLCSP package (1.9×1.9mm) PMIC, suitable for miniaturized products such as smart rings.
High Integration Requirements: Pay attention to the number of channels (such as 23 outputs of AXP15060) and protocol compatibility (I²C/SPI).
Energy Efficiency Sensitive Scenarios: Prioritize verification of light load efficiency (such as nPM1304 sleep zero power consumption) and power meter accuracy.
PMIC is evolving towards higher integration, algorithmic power management, and ultra-low static power consumption, becoming the core engine for breakthroughs in energy efficiency of smart hardware. Developers need to select functional and forward-looking solutions based on the voltage/current tolerance, size, and cost of the application scenario.