Atmosic Technologies, a pioneer in ultra-low-power wireless platforms for the Internet of Things (IoT), and Nichicon Corporation, a prominent electronic components supplier, have joined forces to introduce an innovative energy harvesting solution aimed at reducing battery waste in small form factor IoT devices.
The strategic partnership combines Nichicon’s Small Lithium Titanate Rechargeable Battery (SLB) technology with Atmosic’s ATM33e series of wireless Bluetooth energy harvesting System-on-Chips (SoCs). This collaboration offers developers a comprehensive solution that seamlessly integrates into wearables and other Bluetooth-enabled devices.
One notable advantage of Atmosic’s ATM33e SoC is its remarkably low power consumption. When paired with SLB series devices, this solution significantly extends battery life within a compact form factor. Furthermore, SLB series devices can directly connect to Atmosic’s SoC and recharge from harvested energy sources, eliminating the need for a separate power management unit (PMU). This energy-efficient and highly integrated design not only reduces Bill-of-Materials (BoM) costs but also optimizes space utilization, enabling developers to create sleek and compact designs.
Paul Davis, VP of Product Management at Atmosic, expressed optimism about the partnership, stating, “We look forward to a continued partnership with Nichicon leveraging our energy harvesting technology across a broad range of customer applications. Atmosic’s ATM33e is one of the most powerful and power-efficient Bluetooth 5.3 SoCs on the market. Our customers can use this complete solution to design cost-effective and sustainable IoT devices.”
Craig Anderson, President at Nichicon America, emphasized Nichicon’s commitment to environmental sustainability, saying, “Nichicon is deeply committed to reducing the tech industry’s impact on the environment, including the growing problem of battery waste. Our partnership with Atmosic marks another milestone in creating a more sustainable IoT for generations to come.”
Nichicon’s SLB rechargeable batteries offer several advantages, including a high number of charge and discharge cycles (~25K cycles), low-temperature operation, and superior power density compared to typical rechargeable batteries. These batteries can be efficiently charged from various energy harvesting sources, making them particularly suitable for consumer, commercial, and industrial IoT applications. Additionally, their use of Lithium Titanium Oxide ensures superior safety characteristics, including resistance to combustion from punctures and other forms of damage.
For space-constrained applications, the Atmosic ATM33e is available in an ultra-small chip-scale package (CSP). In traditional applications, it can be acquired in 5x5mm and 7x7mm QFN packages. The ATM33e incorporates an integrated Arm Cortex-M33F microcontroller with up to 1536MB of non-volatile memory and 128KB of RAM.
This collaboration between Atmosic and Nichicon underscores the industry’s commitment to addressing the environmental challenges associated with battery waste while providing practical and sustainable solutions for IoT device developers.
