This article describes how to use a solution that integrates an on/off controller and a battery freshness seal to make product design more efficient during operation and production.

In particular, this article highlights how Analog Devices' integrated on/off controller offers energy-saving features, board space minimization, and high ESD ratings.

■ The era of energy efficiency in electronic systems has arrived.

The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of hybrid configurations that rely heavily on online resources, making the use of electronic systems essential.

Separately, the energy efficiency of electronic systems has become increasingly important as electronic device manufacturers strengthen their efforts toward sustainability due to the UN's 2030 Sustainability Agenda.

This once again highlights the need for solutions that can increase energy efficiency both during operation and during the production process.

■ Improving energy efficiency using an on/off controller

Efficient use of resources is crucial to achieving sustainability goals.

This can be achieved in a variety of ways. One simple way to avoid unnecessary energy consumption is to turn off electronic devices when not in use.

Another effective way is to implement efficient and reliable power-saving mechanisms and incorporate them into product designs.

The on/off controller is excellent in achieving this goal, and can especially function as a battery freshness seal.

These controllers help extend battery life and save energy by disconnecting the entire circuit from the battery when not in use.

This not only extends the shelf life of the product, but also helps reduce energy waste by minimizing unnecessary battery discharge by reducing standby power consumption.

We will now examine how these controllers contribute to energy savings through their operating modes, integrated features, and robustness.

■ Reduce energy waste through standby and power-saving modes

One of the common problems with consumer electronics is low battery levels, requiring charging or replacement of the battery before use. Not only does this demonstrate inefficient use of energy resources, it also degrades the user experience.

To address this issue, energy-efficient battery-powered devices integrate low-power loss circuitry or use battery freshness seals.

The battery freshness seal, as shown in Figure 1, functions as an on/off controller to prevent battery discharge by isolating the battery from connected circuits until a circuit activation signal is applied, such as when a push button is pressed.

This circuit operation is often referred to as 'ship mode' or 'standby mode', with standby mode being the more general term and ship mode being a term used specifically for the period before a product is first put into use.

However, even with battery freshness seals, battery discharge continues and can affect the efficiency of the system.

This discharge amount varies depending on the circuit's standby power consumption. This problem can be addressed by using components with minimal power consumption.

For example, push-button controllers with battery-freshness seals, such as the newly released MAX16169, are available with standby current ratings in the nanoamp range (Figure 1).


When the push button is pressed, the battery is connected to the load.

For example, in Figure 1, the battery is connected to a microcontroller (MCU), a secure digital (SD) module, a GPS module, etc.

Additionally, activating the sleep mode feature found in the MAX16163/MAX16164 can further extend battery life.

This feature turns the system on and off periodically for a specific period of time, causing devices within the system to periodically wake up, complete tasks, and then return to sleep mode.

This feature is particularly useful in wireless monitoring applications such as the Internet of Things (IoT) where devices operate intermittently.

Overall energy efficiency is improved by reducing power consumption during standby mode.

Figure 2 shows how power consumption is reduced during sleep mode, indicated by the SLEEP_TIMER state, compared to the ACTIVE_STATE that occurs when the battery is connected to the system, as shown in Figure 1.


■ Resource-saving performance of integrated solutions

Best practices for saving energy in PCB manufacturing involve responsible resource management. This includes dematerialization measures such as using fewer components in power supplies and using smaller, lighter components.

This can be achieved by integrating multiple functions into a single package, reducing the area occupied on the PCB and consequently saving energy during the manufacturing of the final finished product.

For example, Figure 3 shows that the MAX16150 and MAX16169 integrate load switch and pushbutton debouncer functions, while the MAX16163/MAX164 include additional timing functions.

The MAX16150 and MAX16169 have similar block diagrams.


Figure 4 also shows how the integrated solution improves on existing approaches for deep sleep mode and ship mode, which typically use real-time clocks, load switches, and push-button controllers.

The MAX16163/MAX16164 integrated solution not only reduces solution size by 60%, but also extends battery life by 20% while performing the same function.


■ Improved system-level robustness with higher ESD-rated components

Integrating electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuitry into ICs is critical to ensuring reliability in harsh environments.

These ICs must operate continuously and reliably, so they require adequate protection against external surges.

System designers consider ESD test methods such as the human body model (HBM) for component-level ESD testing and the IEC 61000-4-2 model for system-level testing.

Component-level ESD testing is performed to ensure that ICs can withstand the manufacturing process.

This HBM simulates a scenario where an ESD discharge occurs through an IC to ground, potentially causing a system failure when a charged human body touches the IC.

System-level ESD testing aims to ensure that the system can withstand transient events under a variety of operating conditions in real-world applications, including lightning protection.

To meet these requirements, released products must undergo rigorous testing according to the IEC 61000-4-2 ESD standard, which simulates real-world transient response conditions.

Although both HBM and IEC 61000-4-2 ESD testing methods simulate a charged person discharging static electricity into an electronic system, the IEC 61000-4-2 standard differs in several ways from component-level ESD.


Table 1 shows that the peak current in the HBM test is 5.6 times lower than the pulse current in the IEC 61000-4-2 test.

In terms of number of strikes, component-level HBM testing considers only one strike each in both directions (positive/negative), whereas IEC 61000-4-2 system-level testing requires at least 10 strikes each in both directions to ensure that the IC passes the test.

This means that system engineers will need to consider components with much higher HBM ratings to pass the IEC 61000-4-2 standard.

For example, a system with an HBM ESD rating of +15 kV, such as the MAX16150, can meet the ±2 kV rating of IEC 61000-4-2.

Likewise, parts with a +40 kV HBM ESD rating, such as the MAX16163/MAX16164 and the new MAX16169, can help meet the ±6 kV standard of IEC 61000-4-2.

A higher ESD rating indicates greater robustness against harsh environments.

This not only improves system reliability by minimizing downtime in the field, but also reduces the frequency of product replacement by lowering the likelihood of failure.

ADI's on/off controllers and battery freshness seals feature ESD protection structures on all pins, providing protection against electrostatic discharge that may occur during handling and assembly.

Additionally, additional protection features have been implemented at the input switch stage. The high HBM ESD rating of these threads contributes to system design that meets the IEC 61000-4-2 standard.

■ ADI Push Button On/Off Controller: Key to Improving Energy Efficiency

A key part of our ongoing efforts to improve energy efficiency is using components that help reduce energy waste, from in-house product manufacturing to field operations.

This article explores how ADI's pushbutton on/off controllers and battery freshness seal products help reduce energy waste through standby and sleep modes, save energy and PCB board space during production through integrated features, and increase system robustness in the field through higher ESD ratings.


※ About the author
Bryan Angelo Borres is a power applications engineer in the High-Performance Supervisory Group within the Multimarket Power Eastern Business Unit. He holds a Master's degree in Power Electronics from Mapua University and is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering from the same university. Bryan has over five years of experience in power electronics design research and development.

Noel Tenorio is a Product Applications Manager for the Multimarket Power Business Unit at Analog Devices (ADI) Philippines, responsible for high-performance supervisory products. He joined ADI in August 2016 and prior to that, worked as a design engineer for six years at a switch-mode power supply (SMPS) research and development company. He holds a bachelor's degree in electronics and communications engineering from Batangas State University, a master's degree in electrical engineering from Mapua University's Department of Power Electronics, and a master's degree in electrical engineering. Prior to his supervisory role, he provided application support for thermoelectric cooler controller products.