Freescale Semiconductor on Monday unveiled a new family of wireless charging integrated circuits (ICs) designed to quickly power up “a variety of larger mobile devices including tablets, large-screen smartphones, and portable industrial and medical equipment.”
The new WPR1516 receiver chip and WCT1012 transmitter chip combine to make up “the industry’s first 15-watt, Qi-compliant wireless charging solution,” according to Freescale. The chip combo supports industry standards administered by the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), the Power Matters Alliance (PMA), and other standards bodies, the company said.
The new solution provides three times the power of 5W ICs commonly used in wireless charging devices today, meaning we could soon have wireless charging stations which recharge batteries even faster than wired technologies like USB.
“Today’s mobile products offer a broader range of features, functionality, and form factors than ever before, requiring developers of wireless charging systems to accommodate larger batteries and enable faster recharge speeds,” Denis Cabrol, director of global marketing and business development for Freescale’s MCU group, said in a statement.
“Freescale’s industry-first 15 W solution is engineered to address these evolving market requirements, while helping to streamline product development and unleash design creativity.”
Freescale’s last major entry in the burgeoning wireless charging market was in August, when the company introduced the entry-level MWCT1001A and the premium MWCT1003A with Near Field Communication (NFC) support. Both are aimed at automotive applications, as well the MWCT1000 for wireless charging stations in homes and other fixed locations.
Freescale and other semiconductor firms believe wireless charging is poised for a breakout year in 2015 after some prominent, high-profile installations like last month’s introduction of wireless charging stations at Starbucks stores in San Francisco.
Of course, Freescale isn’t alone in seeking design wins for its wireless charging ICs. Broadcom has also been forging ahead with its own solutions, including the BCM59350 multi-standard smartphone power management unit (PMU) introduced in May.
Freescale said its WPR1516 and WCT1012 chip combo will be available to hardware developers in the first quarter of 2015, along with firmware libraries and an advanced API.
For more information, visit www.freescale.com.
Filed Under: M2M (machine to machine)
