Single power monitoring IC is industry-first, claims Microchip
Claimed to be the industry’s first two-channel device with native 16bit resolution, the PAC1932, and the three-channel PAC1933 are single power monitoring ICs by Microchip.
The power monitoring devices measure from 0 to 32V on a single chip, enabling designers to improve power measurement accuracy. The two-channel device is believed to be the industry’s first with native 16bit resolution, providing leading flexibility across a wide measurement range.
The PAC1932/33 devices include what is needed to measure power on a single IC, integrating multiple channels in a single package for applications such as point of sale (PoS) systems, ATMs and building automation. This reduces costs for system designers, consolidates the bill of materials (BoM) as the measurement of sub-1.0 to 20V voltage rails normally require separate components to measure each rail efficiently, points out Microchip. The PAC1932/33 measure voltage rails up to 32V and also relieves developers from having to reconfigure measurement resolution between low and high current load events.
As the industry’s only two-channel device with 16-bit power measurement, the PAC1932 can measure without host intervention for 17 minutes, relieving developers from adjusting voltage or current range to measure power and energy. The devices include two 16bit analogue to digital converters (ADCs) that can measure voltage and current simultaneously, enabling developers to extract a true power measurement. According to Microchip, developers can design systems to efficiently save power.
As applications continue to seek ways to reduce power consumption, precision DC power measurement has grown as a key element for energy savings. Microchip also offers a four-channel PAC1934 for improved power measurement for Windows 10 devices; the PAC1932/33 two and three channel power monitoring ICs offer improved power measurement for low voltage, high power applications in markets such as embedded computing and networking.
The PAC1932/33 work in conjunction with Linux and Windows 10 software drivers. The ADM00805 register-compatible evaluation board can be used to start development with a graphical user interface reporting Vsense, Vbus, power and accumulated power.
The two-channel PAC1932 and three-channel PAC1933 power monitoring ICs are available now for sampling and in volume production.
