Renesas USB-C PD Extended Power Range solution

USB EPR PD Solution Leverages Type-C Port Controller and Buck-Boost Battery Charger

Jan. 2, 2025

The USB-C charger/port controller platform offers high efficiency and robust safety features for power tools, portable vacuums, lawn mowers, two-wheelers, and more.

Lee Goldberg

Related To: Electronic Design

The RAA489118 buck-boost battery charger and the RAA489400 USB Type-C port controller from Renesas Electronics combine to provide an Extended Power Range (EPR) USB Power Delivery (PD) solution.

The RAA489118 functions as either a battery charger supporting two to seven battery cells in series or as a voltage regulator supporting 30-V input and 30-V output. It employs the company’s patented R3 (Robust Ripple Regulator) technology, which combines the best features of fixed-frequency and hysteretic pulse-width-modulation (PWM) technologies. R3 modulation technology delivers acoustic noise-free operation, fast dynamic response, and best-in-class light-load efficiency for longer battery life.

The battery charger integrates an SMBus, commonly used in power tools, home appliances, and light industrial products, which allows it to work seamlessly with the RAA489400 and other components. Its input- and output-voltage levels also match mainstream solar-power voltage levels.

The RAA489400 port controller supports USB-PD VBUS power up to 48 V/5 A. It features an integrated PHY, both sink and source power-path gate drivers with external NFETs, short-circuit protection, VBUS discharge, a VCONN multiplexer, and dead battery support.

Key features of the Renesas USB EPR PD solution include:

Battery charger supporting two to seven battery cells in series.
Buck-boost voltage regulator supporting 30-V input and 30-V output.
Advanced control scheme delivers fast transient response and system performance.
Robust thermal management and protection features that guard against overcharging, overheating, and voltage anomalies.
Adaptable configurations to support a wide range of applications.
Bidirectional power flow.
USB-IF certified reference design reduces compliance testing time and effort.

The RAA489118 comes in a 4- × 4-mm, 32-lead TQFN package, and the RAA489400 is housed in a 32-Ld 3- × 5-mm FCQFN. Comprehensive design support and tools, including configuration tools and battery-charger GUI software, are also available.

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About the Author

Lee Goldberg | Contributing Editor

Lee Goldberg is a self-identified “Recovering Engineer,” Maker/Hacker, Green-Tech Maven, Aviator, Gadfly, and Geek Dad. He spent the first 18 years of his career helping design microprocessors, embedded systems, renewable energy applications, and the occasional interplanetary spacecraft. After trading his ‘scope and soldering iron for a keyboard and a second career as a tech journalist, he’s spent the next two decades at several print and online engineering publications.

Lee’s current focus is power electronics, especially the technologies involved with energy efficiency, energy management, and renewable energy. This dovetails with his coverage of sustainable technologies and various environmental and social issues within the engineering community that he began in 1996. Lee also covers 3D printers, open-source hardware, and other Maker/Hacker technologies.

Lee holds a BSEE in Electrical Engineering from Thomas Edison College, and participated in a colloquium on technology, society, and the environment at Goddard College’s Institute for Social Ecology. His book, “Green Electronics/Green Bottom Line - A Commonsense Guide To Environmentally Responsible Engineering and Management,” was published by Newnes Press.

Lee, his wife Catherine, and his daughter Anwyn currently reside in the outskirts of Princeton N.J., where they masquerade as a typical suburban family.

Lee also writes the regular PowerBites series.