USB Power Delivery (USB PD) technology underpins a universal fast-charging ecosystem that is rapidly expanding as products such as mobile handsets gain ever-larger batteries. The latest USB PD chargers can have power ratings up to 100 W and can optimize charging by dynamically adjusting current and voltage thanks to the USB Programmable Power Supply (PPS) feature of USB PD. A huge diversity of products such as smart speakers, power tools, wearables, robots, gaming controllers, power banks, and drones—traditionally recharged at 5 V through older USB micro-B or proprietary connectors—can now leverage this ecosystem to benefit from the advantages and interoperability of USB-C technology while charging faster.
To support this migration, STMicroelectronics now offers a USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF)- certified evaluation board for up to 100 W PPS USB Power Sinking Devices (PSD). With it, developers can accelerate new designs and support certification of end products.
The certified device (USB-IF TID: 3036) combines ST’s Nucleo-G071RB and X-Nucleo-USBPDM1 development boards. The Nucleo-G071RB features an STM32G0 microcontroller, the industry’s first general-purpose microcontroller to integrate a USB Type-C Power Delivery controller on-chip, enabling greater system integration as well as the possibility to support new application use cases. The X-Nucleo-USBPDM1 board contains ST’s TCPP01-M12 companion chip for port protection.
Moreover, customers can leverage the powerful tools and software of the STM32 ecosystem to complete their projects quickly and easily. Applications already using a microcontroller with legacy 5V USB charging can be updated to USB Type-C with only a small number of external components.
The STM32G0 MCU and TCPP01-M12 enable an efficient and economical two-chip solution capable of controlling and protecting the USB PD capable USB Type-C port as well as hosting the embedded application.
The TCPP01-M12 companion high-voltage analog front end integrates a charge pump to control the gate of an external power switch, which lets designers choose from economical N-channel MOSFETs that have lower RDS(on) than P-channel alternatives. There is also a low-power mode that draws 0 nA when no cable is attached, enabling longer battery runtime.
The protection features built into the TCPP01-M12 include adjustable 5-V to 22-V overvoltage protection on VBUS, short-to-VBUS protection on configuration channel pins, dead-battery management, and IEC 61000-4-2 ESD protection up to ±8 kV on VBUS and CC lines. The TCPP01-M12’s QFN12 package occupies 80% less board space than a discrete implementation.
The Nucleo-G071RB ($10.32) and X-Nucleo-USBPDM1 ($23.50) are available now from st.com or distributors.
STMicroelectronics, www.st.com