Chip Boosts Solar Cell Prospects in Portable Designs

摘要

Asynchronous stepup converter IC from Texas Instruments lowers the minimum input voltage required for both normal operation and startup, making it possible - perhaps for the first time - for some portable applications to run off of novel energy sources. The TPS61200, which includes an integrated 1.5-A switch, can operate with input voltages lower than 0.3 V with high efficiency. But even more impressive is its ability to start up into full load from a 0.5-Vinput.