Dialog and Energous claim first RF power transmitter IC for wireless charging
Dialog Semiconductor, a provider of highly integrated power management, AC/DC power conversion, solid state lighting and Bluetooth® low energy technology, in partnership with Energous, the developer of WattUp, a wire-free charging technology that provides over-the-air power at a distance, today announced the availability of the DA4100 RF-transmit Integrated Circuit (IC). The new IC greatly simplifies the implementation of WattUp wireless power transmitter systems making them smaller and more cost-effective.
The new DA4100 WattUp IC is the first chip to be made available following the announcement of Dialog Semiconductor’s strategic partnership and investment in Energous Corporation in November 2016. The investment and partnership saw Dialog become the exclusive component supplier of WattUp ICs and allows Energous to leverage Dialog’s broad sales and distribution channels to accelerate market adoption.
“We’re pleased to see the first results of our partnership with Energous Corporation in the form of the WattUp wireless power RF-transmit IC,” said Mark Tyndall, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Strategy, Dialog Semiconductor. “We partnered with Energous because we see the potential of their technology to revolutionize the wireless charging landscape, and we believe this new IC will demonstrate how our partnership can transform device charging.”
“This new IC will be the backbone of transmitters moving forward and our efforts to miniaturize and reduce costs will allow WattUp transmitters to be included in-the-box with many consumer devices,” said Stephen R. Rizzone, president and CEO of Energous. “By combining multiple discrete components present in our early reference designs into a single silicon chip, we can significantly reduce the cost and silicon footprint requirements of our transmitters while decreasing the bill of materials for our customers.”
The WattUp wireless power RF-transmit IC integrates the ARM® Cortex®-M0+, RF transmitter and power management functionality into a single 7mm x 7mm IC. It also features on-chip DC-DC conversion and software, providing seamless integration to Dialog’s SmartBond™ family of highly integrated, low power BLE SoCs. The new IC minimizes required board space, enabling ultra-small charging transmitters and simplifying WattUp’s wireless power transmitter system implementation.
Evaluation kits of the DA4100 WattUp wireless power RF-transmit IC are sampling now.
