SQUEEZING THE MOST FROM BATTERY CELLS WITH A SWITCHED-MODE PUMP

摘要

Achieving long battery life in portable applications is a challenge. Designers working to optimize power consumption must consider such factors as power-supply design, component selection, efficient firmware structure (if any), management of multiple low-power operating modes, and PCB-layout design. Many of today's microcontroller and SOC architectures include an on-chip boost converter that can accept an input voltage supplied by a battery or other source and produce a selectable output voltage that exceeds the input. This article explores the use of an SMP (switched-mode pump) as a boost converter to solve system-power issues.