Power-managing ICs take charge for keeps

It may be a curious response to the economic downturn, but portable and wireless devices are in growing demand, and a new round of power-management ICs will likely come with them. If the evolving interest in power management runs true, the result will be an architecture in which most chips contribute to take charge-that is, true dynamic control-over their system's current and power requirements.

That's what many expected right off the bat and across the board five or six years ago, when the software-based OnNow power initiative, associated with the advanced configuration and power interface for controlling PC-based systems, entered the picture. Instead, most IC vendors since have invoked "power management" as a catchall phrase to denote they're into "saving power."

On the fly
Well, no one's arguing that. Low-power operation is an underlying criterion for users and IC designers, and many devices are complete with a sleep state. But drawing less power by using a given semiconductor technology, or even having a standby mode, does not by itself signify power management. The key, as I see it, is sensing the power environment every few seconds and adjusting requirements to ever-changing operating conditions on the fly.

Right now, there's a decided influx of products associated with wireless focused on lithium-ion battery chargers and managers, PWM controllers and white-LED drivers.

Vendors are under pressure to resolve the power constraints, and already it's clear the issues are bigger than most vendors can handle in one shot.

Some practical solutions include adjusting a cell phone's output based upon time of day or location-or dimming a display's backlighting LEDs depending on ambient light-while making sure the circuitry to do these things doesn't take up too much power of its own.

Some of those kinds of dynamic devices already exist, of course, but true power management of necessity will become the rule rather than the exception. That's because we continually demand smaller portable and wireless devices to do more. And because users are coming to rediscover that even expected advances in lithium-ion batteries to squeeze 30 percent more out of them isn't going to be enough. Has it ever been?

Vincent Biancomano covers power products for ProductWeek. Contact him at 103520.355@compuserve.com.