Just about every one of us has some sort of a portable handheld and/or ear communication/music device—MP3 players, Bluetooth devices, smartphones, tablets, smart watches, ear buds, and so much more. These smart/connected devices all have low power operation with batteries, which can allow for fairly long operating times for users. Quiescent current (Iq), a key parameter in these devices, must be minimized to achieve high performance while maximizing operation time.
It's necessary to extend power savings when the above-mentioned battery-powered devices are in a passive state. Iq is the level of current used, for example, when an IC becomes enabled, but with no switching action or support of any kind of load current.