In recent years, battery-powered electronic devices—such as wearables, mobile devices, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices—have become ubiquitous in everyday life. The components used in these devices require further miniaturization not only to improve design aesthetics and enable new functions, but also to reduce power consumption in order to extend battery life. ROHM has continued to develop power integrated circuits to meet these market demands.
The BD83070GWL is a DC-DC Buck-Boost converter integrated circuit, developed to be the ultimate low-power, eco-friendly device for electronics powered by small batteries and other limited energy sources. It achieves a high efficiency of up to 97% and an ultra-low quiescent current of 2.8 µA.
The newly developed evaluation board was designed to achieve the smallest possible size for a DC-DC Buck-Boost converter, a key requirement for small, battery-powered devices. By integrating the BD83070GWL with an inductor, capacitors, and a total of only five components, an ultra-compact mounting area of 12.87 mm² (3.3 × 3.9 mm) is achieved. As a result, it offers a significant advantage in terms of mounting space compared to conventional DC-DC Buck-Boost IC configurations, including those with integrated inductors. Furthermore, as a reference design, design resources—such as circuit diagrams and the bill of materials (BOM)—are publicly available, enabling a smooth transition from evaluation to mass production.
The new evaluation board is now available. Online sales have already begun, and it is also available for purchase through online retailers such as DigiKey and Farnell.
Application examples
• Wearable devices: smartwatches, smart rings, biometric detection devices, etc.
• Mobile devices: augmented and virtual reality devices, smartphones, etc.
• IoT devices: AI sensor nodes, BLE devices, smart locks, small drones, etc.
• Small battery-powered devices: e-cigarettes, wireless headphones, digital keys, electric toothbrushes, etc.
