RAA230161 Achieves Multi-Voltage Outputs From 5 to 20 V with an Efficiency Rate of up to 95 Percent and Provides High-Functionality Power Supply Monitoring and Protection Circuits for Easy Design of Safe and Reliable Systems

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — April 13, 2016 — Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE:6723), a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, today released industry-first’s high-efficiency power supply IC, the RAA230161 that supports the Power Rules requirements as defined in USB Power Delivery (USB PD) 2.0 and 3.0 specifications from USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF). This IC can be used with a wide variety of equipment that uses direct current (DC) power, from AC adapters and PC peripheral equipment to home and office equipment, and hub applications.

The new high-efficiency power supply IC allows system manufacturers to quickly and easily implement safe and reliable power supply equipment that is based on the USB PD 2.0 and 3.0 specifications.

The USB PD specification makes it possible to provide DC power over a USB cable to equipment, such as notebook personal computers and digital single-lens reflex cameras that previously could not be powered over a USB cable.

In particular, in addition to the maximum 7.5 W (5 V at 1.5 A) of the earlier USB standards, this new standard adds Power Rules based on 15 W (5 V at 3 A), 27 W (9 V at 3 A), 45 W (15 V at 3 A), 60 W (20 V at 3 A), and 100 W (20 V at 5 A) capacities. As a result, power supply designers are faced with challenges supporting multiple voltage levels of the USB PD standards, output voltage switching, and handling large currents up to 3 A. Also, as the concerns for hazards (e.g., overheating on non-compliant cables) associated with larger currents increases, new designs for USB PD power supply will need to provide a higher level of safety and reliability.

Given these conditions, Renesas moved up its development of technology for “Simple DC/DC” called for by users of Renesas microcontroller (MCU) and system-on-chip (SoC) devices, and developed power supply ICs centered around DC/DC converters that can achieve an efficiency rate of up to 95 percent leading to less power loss, as devices that can resolve the issues in the construction of power supply equipment that supports the USB PD 2.0 and 3.0 standards.

Key features of the new RAA230161 power supply IC:

(1) Achieves efficiency rate up to 95 percent and suppresses heat generation

The DC/DC converter block in this new device achieves up to a 95-percent efficiency (compared to 93 percent for earlier Renesas devices), which leads to lower power loss. The RAA230161 has a 20-pin TSSOP package with a built-in heat sink, which suppresses the heat generation associated with increased power levels. The step down DC/DC converter handles currents up to 3 A, operates at 500 kHz, and has an input voltage of 24 V and output voltages of 5 V, 9 V, 12 V, 15 V, and 20 V.

(2) Supports the Power Rules in USB PD 2.0 and 3.0 standards

The RAA230161 supports the Power Rules in USB PD 2.0 and 3.0 standards. With Renesas’ new R9A02G011 USB PD 3.0 controller IC, the RAA230161 can be used to implement a high-speed response DC/DC power supply circuit that switches the output voltage between the 5 V, 9 V, 15 V, and 20 V defined in the USB PD 2.0 and 3.0 standards, as well as the 12 V adopted in many DC systems.

(3) Includes various built-in protection functions to implement safe and reliable power supply equipment in a minimal amount of space

The RAA230161 monitors the output current value with a high-functionality power supply status monitoring circuit and protects the system so that current in excess of a set value is not output. Since it also incorporates various protection functions, including overvoltage protection, overcurrent protection, and short circuit protection, compared to designing a power supply circuit with discrete components, it can reduce the circuit board mounting area by 50 percent compared to earlier Renesas devices.

(4) Contributes to even higher safety and shorter development times with a variety of reference boards that include the new power supply IC and a Renesas USB PD 3.0 controller

Renesas is deploying, in order, a sequence of reference boards that include Renesas’ R9A02G011 USB PD 3.0 controller. Since existing user equipment can be immediately evaluated as USB PD supporting power supply equipment using these references, at the same time as achieving high levels of safety – patent pending.

Renesas’ new RAA230161 is currently (April 13-14) on display at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) 2016, Shenzhen, being held in Shenzhen, China (April 13-14).

Availability

Samples of the RAA230161 are available now. Mass production is scheduled to begin in September 2016 with a volume of 500,000 units per month. (Availability is subject to change without notice.)