Conexant Systems Vaunts Power Management Chip

Chip maker Conexant Systems (Newport Beach, CA) is vaunting a new power management IC (dubbed the Garnet PMIC) the firm says will integrate most power supply functions essential to low-power battery operated computers such as wireless CDMA handsets. Conexant points out that this rollout also extends the firm's portfolio of power amplifiers, RF ICs, and baseband analog products, enabling it to offer OEMs a one-stop shop for analog circuits required for CDMA handsets.

The company's Garnet chip optimizes a battery's resources to enable longer talk and standby times. For OEMs, it also promises to accelerate time-to-market by consolidating previously discrete power-related functions into a single device. Its high level of integration also reduces printed circuit board footprints.

The new device integrates all its regulators along with MOSFET switches, comparators, and power-on reset functions. It also supports seven individual low dropout regulators (LDOs), with 150 mV dropout specs, to drive functions such as baseband digital logic and analog circuit blocks, backlights, and silent alarms such as vibrators. The standby current of the device is less than 50 µA.

The Garnet PMIC is packaged in a single 48-pin TQFP and sells for just over two dollars a pop in OEM quantities of one million units (at time of publication). Conexant says its new IC is now in production. Need more details? Contact Carol Thornton at Conexant Systems Inc., 4311 Jamboree Rd., P.O. Box C, Newport Beach, CA 92658-8902. Phone: (949) 483-7413. Fax: (949) 483-4078. Email: carol.thornton@conexant.com.