Qi 1.3 Wireless Charging Reference Design

Microchip Technology has announced a new Qi 1.3 wireless charging reference design providing developers of wireless charging systems for automotive and consumer applications with the tools and support for the integration and certification of new-generation product designs.

The Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) recently released the Qi 1.3 specification that requires authentication for improved safety when transmitting up to 15W of power between a transmitter and a receiver, and for developers launching certified Qi 1.3 transmitters under tight timelines, this three-coil Qi 1.3 reference design has been designed to provide a head start for product development.

The reference design integrates secure storage subsystem software with the wireless power microcontroller (MCU) and is a flexible solution that enables custom topologies and foreign object detection (FOD) implementation.

As a member in the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), which sets global standards for wireless charging of mobile devices, Microchip was able to provide expertise during the development of the recently released Qi 1.3 specification.

Qi 1.3 is a significant update from Qi 1.2.4 and mandates hardware-based authentication between transmitter and receiving devices for power transfer above 5W. By adhering to the new authentication standard, designers will be able to ensure that phones receiving 15W are receiving it from a Qi-certified authenticated transmitter to ensure safety.

“Wireless charging makes it easy and convenient for consumers to charge devices and, as a result, demand for these systems in the automotive and consumer segments is on the rise,” said Joe Thomsen, vice president, MCU16 business unit. “Microchip’s Qi 1.3 reference design, tools and support help engineers to meet rapidly evolving development requirements and enable easy certification of the new Qi 1.3 transmitter designs, speeding time to market and easing end-product certification.”

Included in the reference design are all required elements: Qi controller, Qi application software, provisioned authentication controller that is a WPC-approved secure storage subsystem and crypto software libraries that execute on the Qi controller. The reference design includes complete schematics, bill of materials, software and design guidelines.

Microchip is partnering with Avnet to make evaluation boards for the Qi reference design available to qualified customers around the world.

To support its Qi 1.3 wireless power solution, Microchip provides the dsPIC33C family of devices to run the Qi application software and the ECC608/TA100 secure storage subsystem provisioned by Microchip as a licensed WPC Manufacturing Certificate