Making wireless power a reality, Texas Instruments today introduced its first single-chip wireless power receiver with integrated battery charger and a new "free-position" transmitter integrated circuit, which expands the charge area by 400 percent.
The two bqTESLA circuits give smartphone users a simpler charging experience and help designers implement wireless power technology in more places, such as automotive consoles, charging pads and office furniture.
TI's bq51050B is the first Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) 1.1 Qi-compliant wireless power receiver with integrated direct battery charger, and enables faster, more efficient charging of smartphones, wireless keyboards and other portable electronics. The 20-V receiver combines rectification, voltage conditioning, communication control and Li-Ion charging capability in a single circuit, ? eliminating the need for a separate battery charger circuit. The inductor-free, single-stage design delivers very high system efficiency and saves up to 60-percent board space compared to a multi-stage implementation.
In addition to the receiver, TI's bq500410A is the first WPC 1.1-ready wireless power transfer controller to support A6 transmitters. The controller allows a Qi-compliant smartphone or other portable device to charge in a surface area of at least 70 mm by 20 mm, 400-percent larger compared to today's 18-mm by 18-mm "bull's-eye" charge space. The bq500410A achieves greater than 70-percent efficiency, and relies on a parasitic metal and foreign object detection feature to protect the system and stop delivering power if a metal object is detected between the transmitter and receiver.
TI's receivers and bq500410A transmitter ICs are included in the new Nokia Lumia 920 and Nokia Lumia 820 smartphones and wireless charging accessories, such as the Nokia BH-220 Bluetooth headset and DT-38 cradle, JBL PowerUp Wireless Charging Speaker docking station with built-in NFC, and the Nokia Wireless Charging Pillow by Fatboy.
The bq51050B comes in a 1.9-mm by 3.0-mm WCSP package or 4.5-mm by 3.5-mm QFN, and is priced at US$2.75 in 1,000-unit quantities. A bq51051B version with 4.35-V charge voltage is available. The bq500410A comes in a 48-pin, 7-mm by 7-mm QFN package, and is priced at US$3.18 in 1,000-unit quantities.