Power management integrated circuit
Power management integrated circuits (power management ICs or PMICs) are integrated circuits (or a system block in a system-on-a-chip device) for managing power requirements of the host system. A PMIC is often included in battery-operated devices such as mobile phones and portable media players.
Overview
Power management ICs are solid state devices that control the flow and direction of electrical power. They may provide high efficiency power conversion that minimizes energy loss (heat), and are used in mobile devices, TVs, and cars.[1] Many devices have multiple internal voltages (e.g., 5 V, 3.3 V, 1.8 V, etc.) and sources of external power to charge their batteries including USB.[2]
The term refers to a class of integrated circuits that perform various functions related to power requirements. A PMIC may have one or more of the following functions:[3]
- DC to DC conversion
- Battery charging
- Power-source selection
- Voltage scaling
- Power sequencing
- Miscellaneous functions
Features
A PMIC may include battery management, voltage regulation, and charging functions. It may include a DC to DC converter to allow dynamic voltage scaling. Some models are known to feature up to 95% power conversion efficiency. Some models integrate with dynamic frequency scaling in a combination known as DVFS (dynamic voltage and frequency scaling).
It may be manufactured using BiCMOS process. They may come as QFN package. Some models feature I²C or SPI serial bus communications interface for I/O.
Some models feature a low-dropout regulator (LDO), and a real-time clock (RTC) co-operating with a backup battery.
A PMIC can use pulse-frequency modulation (PFM) and pulse-width modulation (PWM). It can use switching amplifier (Class-D electronic amplifier).
IC manufacturers
Intel, Qualcomm, MediaTek, Freescale Semiconductor,[4] Dialog Semiconductor, Silicon Mitus,[5] Exar, International Rectifier, Intersil, Maxim Integrated Products, Linear Technology, Renesas Electronics, Rohm Semiconductor, ON Semiconductor, and Texas Instruments are some of many manufacturers of PMICs.