New boost converter provides longer battery life for remote control applications

ROHM has announced the development of a boost DC-DC converter with built-in MOSFET offering what is claimed to be the lowest current consumption in the industry, making it ideal for electronic devices powered by dry-cell batteries such as remote controls for home appliances, electronic dictionaries, and gadgets. In recent years, portable devices such as smartphones and wearables that utilise rechargeable batteries has dramatically risen, while the take-up of conventional dry-cell batteries resulting from application diversification and expansion into overseas markets for electronic dictionaries, remote controls for home appliances, and electronic gadgets is progressing at a rapid pace, increasing the demand for power supply ICs that can provide greater energy savings. In response, the company leveraged power processes and analog circuit technologies developed over many years to produce power supply ICs that meet market needs, including this latest converter optimized for devices powered by dry-cell batteries. The BU33UV7NUX outputs the 3.3V necessary for driving MCUs in applications requiring 1V-3V input from one to two dry-cell batteries. Seeking lower current consumption to increase operating time in battery-equipped devices allowed the company to achieve an industry-low current consumption of 7µA (vs functionally equivalent products), extending the operating time by as much as 175 days over conventional products.