Don’t Stress with Nomophobia: Part 4 of 4

If we didn’t know it before Covid-19, we do now: always being connected via your smart mobile device is essential. Track and Trace – scan the QR code, order online, pay without cash, watch an instructional video, send a selfie, use an app to summon a taxi, or count your steps as part of a fitness program. Hey, you might even make an actual phone call!

There’s a word given to describe the fear of not having access to a mobile phone: nomophobia (no mobile phone phobia). More specifically, according to an LG survey ‘Low Battery Anxiety’ is the feeling of fear experienced as you run out of battery life, ‘causing you to live your life on your phone’s terms rather than your own’. But relax, it doesn't have to be that way – companies like Power Integrations are continuously developing new solutions that are enabling mobile device makers and after-market charger providers to deliver ever-smaller, higher power, sleek products that will keep you online.

InnoSwitch™3 power supply ICs

Power Integrations offers several power conversion IC solutions that address the mobile charger market. The InnoSwitch family combines primary, secondary and feedback circuits in a single surface-mounted offline flyback switcher IC. InnoSwitch ICs incorporate a high-voltage primary-side switch (either power MOSFET or gallium nitride (GaN)), the primary-side controller, a secondary-side controller for synchronous rectification and FluxLink™ communications technology that eliminates the need for an optocoupler.

PowiGaN™ is Power Integrations’ internally developed GaN technology. PowiGaN switches replace the traditional silicon transistors on the primary side, reducing switching losses and enabling power supplies that are more efficient, smaller and lighter than silicon alternatives. PowiGaN-based ICs achieve up to 95% efficiency across the full load range and up to 100 W in enclosed adapter implementations without requiring a heatsink.

FluxLink enables feedback information to be delivered across the isolation barrier without the use of any magnetic materials, and it delivers a very high communication bandwidth which enables much faster transient response. This proprietary technology meets all global noise immunity standards. For safety, it complies not only with UL and TUV global isolation standards but also the more stringent CQC 5,000-meter Chinese safety standard.

InnoSwitch3 ICs can be used to create power supplies up to 100 W output, including CV/CC chargers that easily meet average power supply efficiency requirements, offer very low no-load input power, and provide outstanding standby performance. Power Integrations’ EcoSmart™ technology, used in InnoSwitch3 ICs, enables designs that consume as little as 14 mW of no-load power and makes the family ideal for applications that must meet energy-efficiency standards, such as the U.S. Department of Energy DoE 6, California Energy Commission (CEC) and European Code of Conduct.

Constant power for chargers

The InnoSwitch3-CP (Constant Power) family of ICs dramatically simplifies the design and manufacture of flyback power converters, particularly those requiring high efficiency and/or compact size. Devices are available that support the common combinations of latching and auto-restart behaviors required by applications, such as quick charge and USB PD designs. The devices are available with and without cable-drop compensation. InnoSwitch3-CP ICs incorporate multiple protection features including line over- and under-voltage protection, output over-voltage and over-current limiting, and over-temperature shutdown.

Design solutions

All InnoSwitch3 product families work with a wide variety of microcontrollers using Weltrend, Via, Ionics, Cypress Semiconductor and other vendors in reference designs. This allows the designer to work with their preferred microcontroller IC when designing with PI.

Power Integrations offers many reference designs that help users develop compact, fast-charge, power-efficient charging power supplies. Here are some examples:

DER-551 is an engineering report that describes a dual output power supply intended for USB wall outlet chargers using two InnoSwitch3-CP INN3266C-H210 and the Cypress CCG4 CYPD4225 USB Type-C controller. The54 W design runs off an 85 VAC to 265 VAC input and enables two 27 W output (5 V/3 A or 9 V/3 A) rails designed for a Type-C USB PD charger. Both outputs utilize the INN3266C CP version from the InnoSwitch3-CP family of ICs. This design shows high power density and efficiency that is possible due to the high level of integration of the InnoSwitch3-CP controller providing exceptional performance. DER-551 is a dual flyback design sharing the same EMI filter and input bulk capacitor. The key design goals were high power density, high efficiency, low no-load consumption, and USB PD compatibility for both the outputs.

DER-628 describes a 5 V/3.0 A or 9 V/2 A output USB Type-C and USB PD mobile phone charger using the InnoSwitch3 INN3264C-H201 and Cypress CCG3PA USB Type-C USB PD controller. The 18 W design shows the high-power density, efficiency and exceptional performance that are possible due to the high level of integration of the InnoSwitch3 controller.

DER-603 details a 27 W USB PD mobile phone charger power supply that can be configured for 5 V/3.0 A, 9 V/3 A or 3 V to 11 V with adjustable voltage and current to comply with USB PD 3.0 and PPS protocols. This design uses the InnoSwitch3-CP INN3266C-H210 integrated power supply controller from Power Integrations and Cypress Semiconductor’s CCG3PA (CYPD3175) USB PD controller.

DER-536 is a 15 V/3 A, 9 V/3 A and 5 V/3 A output USB Type-C and USB PD charger, based on the InnoSwitch3-CP INN3268C-H208 and Cypress’ CYPD2134 Type-C USB PD controller. The 45 W USB PD power supply again demonstrates the space-saving, high efficiency and high performance that can be achieved using InnoSwitch3 family ICs.

Additional design examples that demonstrate Power Integrations’ power supply ICs for mobile chargers are detailed on the webpage, USB PD, Fast Charging & Notebook Adapters. The company’s extensive reference designs, kits and reports are also available in their Design Support Library. 

Lowest BOM count

Recently, Power Integrations announced a new branch of the InnoSwitch3 product line, the InnoSwitch3-PD family of ICs, which almost halves the BOM count of USB Type-C, USB Power Delivery (PD), and USB Programmable Power Supply (PPS) adapters. This compact InSOP™-24D-packaged IC includes a USB C and PD microcontroller, alongside the other element common to the InnoSwith3 family – a high-voltage PowiGaN switch (InnoSwitch3 family devices can feature either a silicon or gallium nitride device depending on power level), a multi-mode quasi-resonant flyback controller, secondary-side sensing, FluxLink isolated digital feedback and a synchronous-rectification driver – making it the most integrated IC for this application.

Featuring no-load power consumption as low as 14 mW, power supply designs using InnoSwitch3-PD ICs meet all global energy-efficiency regulations. The high efficiency of these devices ensures low heat dissipation, eliminating the need for bulky heatsinks.

DER-837 describes a 45 W USB PD 3.0 power supply with 3.3 V – 11 V / 5 A (45 W Power-limited) PPS output based on the INN3879C-H803 InnoSwitch3-PD IC.

RDK-838 is a design kit for a 60 W USB PD 3.0 power supply with 3.3 V – 21 V PPS output using the InnoSwitch3-PD INN3879C-H801.

Most compact design

For the ultimate in miniature USB chargers, designers should look at Power Integrations' InnoSwitch4-CZ family which has already been used by Anker, the global mobile device charging company. InnoSwitch4-CZ high frequency, zero voltage switching (ZVS) flyback switcher ICs incorporate a robust 750 V primary switch using Power Integrations’ PowiGaN technology, paired with an innovative non-complementary mode active clamp flyback controller (ClampZero™ IC) which facilitates a new class of high frequency, ultra-compact chargers. The non-complementary switching mode of the active clamp is a boon to circuit designers. ClampZero ICs operate in both continuous and discontinuous modes and also avoid the light-load burst-mode typically required with conventional complementary-mode active-clamp circuits. At the time of the launch of Anker's miniature Nano II charger, Steven Yang, CEO of Anker commented: “The InnoSwitch4-CZ (chipset) was a natural choice for our new Nano II series of USB-C chargers. Its outstanding levels of integration and efficiency are key to the Nano II series’ extremely compact design.”

DER-928 details an ultra-compact 60 W USB PD 3.0 charger for mobile phones and laptops using then InnoSwitch4-CZ PowiGaN and ClampZero chipset, plus Power Integration's MinE-CAP™ IC which shrinks the size of the bulk capacitor by 50%.

FOMO no mo'

If you are not online, you may be experiencing Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO). Whether you are missing an important business meeting, unable to access vital documents at airports or unaware that there is a fabulous party that you just missed because you couldn't access your Facebook account, that fear is real, and it can have consequences. But there is no need to suffer from FOMO or nomophobia any longer - elegant solutions are here to keep you connected.

For more details on InnoSwitch ICs, please visit the Power Integrations website at power.com.