Smartphone and tablet OEMs are constantly looking for innovation to speed up charging time of their devices, making them easier for users to top off batteries during the course of their daily lives. This will mean greater convenience for users, as they will be able to benefit from an expanding breadth of features and functionality in their portable devices, but without having to worry about battery depletion.
As a result of this dynamic, demand is substantially increasing for small form factor chargers with shorter charging time. The technology leading the way in addressing this dynamic is Qualcomm’s Quick ChargeTM 3.0 technology* - through which fast charging can be achieved via the high voltage dedicated charging port HVDCP protocol (with a 4x improvement over conventional charging being achieved). Power IC manufacturers, in response to such developments, need to be able to deliver solutions that address all of the following criteria:
PCB size, thermal and efficiency constraints, because of the small form factors now expected by consumers
Short development times, due to time-to-market pressure experienced by OEMs
High degree of interoperability with the core IC technologies incorporated into portable devices
ON Semiconductor has been able to underline its leadership position in implementing AC-DC power systems for portable devices with the news that it is the first company to receive the UL certification for the Quick ChargeTM 3.0 protocol. This means that design engineers can be assured that the NCP4371 reference design is ready for OEM production, exhibiting full compatibility with Quick Charge compatible smartphone and tablets. The reference design will fully perform in accordance the protocol’s specifications without any technical issues arising - thereby making the design-in process and final product certification much more straightforward and trouble-free, as well as mitigating the potential risks involved with other solutions.
UL is the exclusive provider for the Quick ChargeTM 3.0 protocol certification. In order to issue the compliance certificate, UL follows a detailed test methodology (the High Voltage Dedicated Charging Port HVDCP Compliance Plan Revision D and selected Quick Charge 3.0 Continuous Mode PD recognition tests). The UL certificate for ON Semiconductor NCP4371 reference design is available on the ON Semiconductor website: http://www.onsemi.com/pub/Collateral/TND6200-D.PDF
*Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 technology is a product of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated.