The Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) recently released the Qi 1.3 specification, which requires identity authentication to improve security when the transmitter and receiver are transmitting up to 15W of power.
To meet the requirements of this specification, Microchip Technology Inc. today announced a new Qi® 1.3 wireless charging reference design that provides developers of wireless charging systems for automotive and consumer applications with the tools and support necessary to Enable seamless integration and certification of next-generation product designs.
For wireless charging system developers looking to ship a certified Qi 1.3 transmitter within a limited time frame, the Microchip three-coil Qi 1.3 reference design provides a product development lead. This reference design fully integrates the secure storage subsystem software with a wireless power microcontroller (MCU) and is a flexible solution that enables custom topologies and foreign object detection (FOD).
As a full member of the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), which sets the global standard for wireless charging of mobile devices, Microchip provided expertise in the drafting of the recently released Qi 1.3 specification. Qi 1.3 is a major upgrade to Qi 1.2.4, which mandates hardware-based authentication between transmitter and receiver devices for power transfer above 5W. By adhering to the new certification standard, designers can ensure that phones receiving 15W of power are receiving signals from Qi-certified transmitters for safety.
Joe Thomsen, vice president of Microchip’s 16-bit microcontroller business unit, said: “Wireless charging enables consumers to simply and conveniently charge their devices, so the demand for these systems in the automotive and consumer sectors continues to increase. Microchip’s Qi 1.3 reference designs, tools and Service support helps engineers meet rapidly evolving development requirements and makes new Qi 1.3 transmitter designs easy to certify, accelerating time to market and simplifying end product certification.”
The Microchip Wireless Charging System reference design includes all the necessary elements: a Qi controller, Qi application software, a preconfigured authentication controller that is a WPC-approved secure storage subsystem, and a cryptographic software library executing on the Qi controller. This reference design includes complete schematics, bill of materials, software and design guidelines. Microchip has partnered with Avnet to provide Qi reference design evaluation boards to compliant customers worldwide.
To support the Qi 1.3 wireless charging solution, Microchip offers the dsPIC33C family of devices to run Qi application software and the ECC608/TA100 secure storage subsystem. The latter is provided by Microchip as a WPC Certified Manufacturing Certificate Authority. As a total system solution, the reference design also integrates the MIC4605 and MCP14700 gate drivers, MCP16331 and MCP1725 Voltage regulators, MCP6C02 current sense device, ATA6563 CAN transceiver and MCP9700 temperature sensor.
Availability and Pricing
Microchip’s Qi 1.3 wireless charging transmitter reference design is now available for demonstration and evaluation by compliant customers. Related companies need to provide a license agreement to obtain reference design software. Evaluation boards for these reference designs will be available to compliant customers through Avnet in August 2021.
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