1999-09-27 , E/IC-1073/54
Product News From Philips Semiconductors

The continued miniaturization of battery powered products such as cordless and cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), MP3 players and minidisk players, necessitates the use of fully integrated power source solutions, not just a collection of separate power management chips. With the introduction of its new TEA1202T Battery Power Unit IC, Philips Semiconductors, the largest European semiconductor manufacturer, provides a total solution to high efficiency DC/DC conversion, accurate voltage regulation and battery low detection in a single 20-lead SSOP packaged device. Capable of starting up from input voltages as low as 0.9 V, the TEA1202T can be used with single-cell NiCd, NiMH or primary cells, as well as with 2- or 3-cell NiCd/NiMH or single-cell LiIon battery packs. Used with the higher voltage battery packs, the TEA1202T's active current limiting and exceptionally fast response to changing load conditions make it highly suitable for pulsed-power applications such as GSM and DECT handsets.

"The introduction last year of our world beating TEA1210ATS converter IC pioneered the move towards reducing the number of cells required in cell-phone battery packs, and as a result small lightweight low-cost GSM phones powered by just two NiMH or NiCd cells are already appearing on the market," said Jos Klippert, Philips Semiconductors' marketing manager for battery management products. "The TEA1202T will make cordless phones operating from a 1.5 V single-cell battery pack a reality today, while the same technology that is used in the TEA1202T, together with expected improvements in the overall efficiency of mobile phones, may in future make it possible to produce cellular telephones that operate from a single cell, be it either a NiCd, NiMH or even a primary cell."

The TEA1202T is a truly universal solution that can be used with all the popular battery pack configurations currently found in mobile equipment, as well as with new single-cell battery pack designs. Its unique combination of conversion efficiency and functionality, which reflects Philips' extensive experience in both battery management and consumer product design, will give users the benefit of the longest possible operating times for their equipment.

Utilizing Philips Semiconductors' digitally controlled pulse-frequency/pulse-width modulation techniques and fabricated in an advanced 0.6 µm BiMOS process that allows the incorporation of 100 mW power MOSFETs on-chip, the TEA1202T achieves conversion efficiencies in excess of 90% for all popular battery configurations over a wide range of output powers. Unsurpassed by any other DC/DC converter chip on the market, this combination of high conversion efficiency and wide dynamic range has the potential to change the size, form and endurance of handheld tools.

In addition to its programmable up/down conversion capabilities (with output voltages of 2.2 V to 5.5 V in up-conversion mode or 1.3 V to 5.5 V in down-conversion mode), the TEA1202T also includes two low drop-out voltage linear regulators that can be used to generate highly stable low-noise system reference voltages or low-voltage power rails. One of these regulators is connected to the output of the DC/DC converter, while the other has an undedicated input that can be connected directly to the battery pack or to any other supply rail in the equipment. The very low drop-out voltage of these regulators (only 75 mV at 50 mA) ensures that they remain operational over an extremely wide range of battery conditions. Alternatively, both regulators can be operated as power switches, allowing parts of the application to be selectively shut down in order to save energy. Integral soft-start circuitry in the TEA1202T ensures clean power-up with input voltages as low as 0.9 V, and an autonomous on-chip 'battery-low' detection circuit ensures orderly shut-down when the battery pack finally becomes exhausted.

Samples of the TEA1202T are available now, with volume production scheduled to start in November '99. In high volume it sells for around US$ 1.65.

Philips Semiconductors, a division of Royal Philips Electronics, headquartered in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, is the eighth largest semiconductor supplier based on Dataquest's 1998 report* and the third largest supplier of discretes in the world. Philips Semiconductors' innovations in digital audio, video, and mobile technology position the company as a leader in the consumer, multimedia and wireless communications markets. Sales offices are located in all major markets around the world and are supported by systems labs. Additional information on Philips Semiconductors can be obtained by accessing its home page at  http://cdrom.semiconductors.com/

* Based on Vendor Revenue from Shipments of Total Semiconductors Worldwide according to Dataquest's 1998 Worldwide Semiconductor Market Share report published in May, 1999.