In our previous article, Innovative Nanopower Solutions for Smart Home Applications, we discussed the crucial role of efficient power management in the next generation of smart home devices.
In this article, we’ll discuss the design process, focusing on how circuit simulation tools can simplify your work and provide practical hardware examples to help you get started.
Making Design Simple with Circuit Simulation
When designing a battery-powered sensor, it’s important to start by understanding the capabilities and limitations of the power circuitry. This is where circuit calculations and simulations come into play. They help save time and reduce the chances of designing hardware around an unsuitable integrated circuit.
Analog Devices (ADI) makes this process easier with its free EE-Sim® Power Tool. By simply inputting the required parameters—input voltage, output voltage, and current—the tool quickly calculates a suitable circuit. For example, Figure 3 illustrates a circuit simulation result generated by EE-Sim® Power.
Once a circuit is calculated, simulations can be run using actual external components to visualize waveforms for different voltages and currents. The tool also supports advanced simulations, including load step responses, AC loop stability, line transient behavior, and efficiency analysis, providing comprehensive insights into your design.
Hardware to Get Started With
While theory and simulation are critical in the design process, real-world hardware often behaves differently. That’s why hands-on evaluation is essential. Beyond evaluation boards for individual power converters, there are complete, practical sensor systems available for testing.
One such example is the Multistandard Micropower Verified Smoke Detection System-on-Module, which demonstrates the capabilities of the MAX77837 and ADP162 in powering a full smoke detector system. This system includes the ADPD188BI integrated optical module for smoke detection, the MAX32660 microcontroller running a smoke and fire detection algorithm, and the MAX31875 digital temperature sensor.
All the design files for this system are available for download, providing an easy way to develop a high-quality smart home sensor with ultra-low-power features. This fully optimized and verified hardware includes the necessary software, showcasing the effectiveness of the power management circuitry in a real-world application.
Conclusion
In conclusion, using circuit simulation tools like EE-Sim® Power and real-world hardware examples can greatly simplify the design of smart home devices. These resources help streamline the development process, ensuring efficient, reliable, and energy-efficient solutions for battery-powered sensors and other applications.
Applicable Part Numbers
| DigiKey Part Number | Manufacturer Part Number |
|---|---|
| MAX31875R0TZS+TTR-ND,MAX31875R0TZS+TCT-ND,MAX31875R0TZS+TDKR-ND | MAX31875R0TZS+T |
| 175-MAX31875R7TZS+TTR-ND,175-MAX31875R7TZS+TCT-ND,175-MAX31875R7TZS+TDKR-ND | MAX31875R7TZS+T |
| 175-MAX31875R1TZS+TTR-ND,175-MAX31875R1TZS+TCT-ND,175-MAX31875R1TZS+TDKR-ND | MAX31875R1TZS+T |
| 175-MAX31875R2TZS+TTR-ND,175-MAX31875R2TZS+TCT-ND,175-MAX31875R2TZS+TDKR-ND | MAX31875R2TZS+T |
| 175-MAX31875R5TZS+TTR-ND,175-MAX31875R5TZS+TCT-ND,175-MAX31875R5TZS+TDKR-ND | MAX31875R5TZS+T |
| 175-MAX31875R6TZS+TTR-ND,175-MAX31875R6TZS+TCT-ND,175-MAX31875R6TZS+TDKR-ND | MAX31875R6TZS+T |
| 175-MAX31875R3TZS+TTR-ND,175-MAX31875R3TZS+TCT-ND,175-MAX31875R3TZS+TDKR-ND | MAX31875R3TZS+T |
| 175-MAX31875R4TZS+TTR-ND,175-MAX31875R4TZS+TCT-ND,175-MAX31875R4TZS+TDKR-ND | MAX31875R4TZS+T |
| MAX31875R0TZS±ND | MAX31875R0TZS+ |
| 505-MAXREFDES173#-ND | MAXREFDES173# |
| MAX31875EVKIT#-ND | MAX31875EVKIT# |
| MAX32660GWE+TTR-ND,MAX32660GWE+TCT-ND,MAX32660GWE+TDKR-ND | MAX32660GWE+T |
| 175-MAX32660GTG+TTR-ND,175-MAX32660GTG+TCT-ND,175-MAX32660GTG+TDKR-ND | MAX32660GTG+T |
| MAX32660GTP±ND | MAX32660GTP+ |
| MAX32660GTG±ND | MAX32660GTG+ |
| 175-MAX32660GWEBL+TTR-ND,175-MAX32660GWEBL+TCT-ND,175-MAX32660GWEBL+TDKR-ND | MAX32660GWEBL+T |
| 505-MAX32660GTGBL±ND | MAX32660GTGBL+ |
| MAX32660GTP+T-ND | MAX32660GTP+T |
| 505-MAX32660GTGBL+TTR-ND | MAX32660GTGBL+T |
| MAX32660GWE±ND | MAX32660GWE+ |
| 505-MAX32660GWEBL±ND | MAX32660GWEBL+ |
| MAX32660-EVSYS#-ND | MAX32660-EVSYS# |
| MAX32660-EVKIT#-ND | MAX32660-EVKIT# |
| 505-ADP162AUJZ-3.3-R7TR-ND,505-ADP162AUJZ-3.3-R7CT-ND,505-ADP162AUJZ-3.3-R7DKR-ND | ADP162AUJZ-3.3-R7 |
| ADP162AUJZ-1.8-R7TR-ND,ADP162AUJZ-1.8-R7CT-ND,ADP162AUJZ-1.8-R7DKR-ND | ADP162AUJZ-1.8-R7 |
| ADP162ACBZ-1.8-R7TR-ND,ADP162ACBZ-1.8-R7CT-ND,ADP162ACBZ-1.8-R7DKR-ND | ADP162ACBZ-1.8-R7 |
| ADP162AUJZ-2.8-R7TR-ND,ADP162AUJZ-2.8-R7CT-ND,ADP162AUJZ-2.8-R7DKR-ND | ADP162AUJZ-2.8-R7 |
| ADP162AUJZ-3.0-R7TR-ND,ADP162AUJZ-3.0-R7CT-ND,ADP162AUJZ-3.0-R7DKR-ND | ADP162AUJZ-3.0-R7 |
| ADP162AUJZ-2.5-R7TR-ND,ADP162AUJZ-2.5-R7CT-ND,ADP162AUJZ-2.5-R7DKR-ND | ADP162AUJZ-2.5-R7 |
| ADP162ACBZ-2.1-R7TR-ND,ADP162ACBZ-2.1-R7CT-ND,ADP162ACBZ-2.1-R7DKR-ND | ADP162ACBZ-2.1-R7 |
| ADP162ACBZ-3.0-R7TR-ND,ADP162ACBZ-3.0-R7CT-ND,ADP162ACBZ-3.0-R7DKR-ND | ADP162ACBZ-3.0-R7 |
| ADP162ACBZ-3.2-R7TR-ND,ADP162ACBZ-3.2-R7CT-ND,ADP162ACBZ-3.2-R7DKR-ND | ADP162ACBZ-3.2-R7 |
| ADP162ACBZ-2.3-R7TR-ND,ADP162ACBZ-2.3-R7CT-ND,ADP162ACBZ-2.3-R7DKR-ND | ADP162ACBZ-2.3-R7 |
| 505-ADP162AUJZ-1.5-R7TR-ND,505-ADP162AUJZ-1.5-R7CT-ND,505-ADP162AUJZ-1.5-R7DKR-ND | ADP162AUJZ-1.5-R7 |
| ADP162AUJZ-2.7-R7TR-ND,ADP162AUJZ-2.7-R7CT-ND,ADP162AUJZ-2.7-R7DKR-ND | ADP162AUJZ-2.7-R7 |
| ADP162AUJZ-4.2-R7TR-ND,ADP162AUJZ-4.2-R7CT-ND,ADP162AUJZ-4.2-R7DKR-ND | ADP162AUJZ-4.2-R7 |
| 505-ADP162AUJZ-3.1-R7TR-ND,505-ADP162AUJZ-3.1-R7CT-ND,505-ADP162AUJZ-3.1-R7DKR-ND | ADP162AUJZ-3.1-R7 |
| 505-ADP162ACBZ-2.8-R7TR-ND,505-ADP162ACBZ-2.8-R7CT-ND,505-ADP162ACBZ-2.8-R7DKR-ND | ADP162ACBZ-2.8-R7 |
| 505-ADP162ACBZ-4.2-R7TR-ND,505-ADP162ACBZ-4.2-R7CT-ND,505-ADP162ACBZ-4.2-R7DKR-ND | ADP162ACBZ-4.2-R7 |
| 505-ADP162ACBZ-1.2-R7TR-ND,505-ADP162ACBZ-1.2-R7CT-ND,505-ADP162ACBZ-1.2-R7DKR-ND | ADP162ACBZ-1.2-R7 |
| 505-ADP162AUJZ-2.3-R7TR-ND,505-ADP162AUJZ-2.3-R7CT-ND,505-ADP162AUJZ-2.3-R7DKR-ND | ADP162AUJZ-2.3-R7 |