What if battery-powered devices could monitor sensors while keeping the main processor off? An IC can handle both sensing and wake-up at low power.
Nanopower Semiconductor has introduced the nPZ2100, an ultra-low-power system control IC designed to manage sensors and peripherals while keeping the host microcontroller or processor powered down until required.
The IC draws 200 nA typical idle current and 1 µA polling current, and can autonomously manage up to six sensors or peripherals through I²C or SPI interfaces. This allows a device to monitor inputs and determine when the main processor needs to wake, reducing the time that higher-power processing circuitry remains active.
The device integrates four peripheral power switches and one dedicated host power switch to control connected circuitry. The IC also includes 256-byte SRAM for data logging, a three-channel ADC with battery monitoring, a 32-bit timer and alarm, watchdog and event-counter functions.
The IC operates across a −40°C to +85°C temperature range and includes power-aware operation for energy-harvesting systems. By handling monitoring and event detection autonomously, it is intended for battery-powered, connected and energy-harvesting devices that need to remain responsive while minimising standby power consumption.
The architecture follows a “sense, decide, wake” approach, where the low-power controller continuously handles selected monitoring tasks and activates the host processor only when processing is required. This can potentially reduce battery replacement frequency in always-on devices.
Early-release development kits for the IC are now available upon request. The company has positioned the device for applications requiring low-power sensor monitoring and autonomous peripheral control.
Click here for the official announcement.
