Featuring power and communication on a single line, the Max20340 eliminates pins and discrete devices needed to communicate between a charging dock and a low-voltage end product such as true wireless earbuds, rings and other small wearables.
This PLC chip minimizes the number of mechanical contact points for the charging and communication interface, which Maxim claims will reduce cost, limit points of failure and increase reliability.
It incorporates automatic presence detection, eliminating alternative methods such as mechanical pogo pins or hall effect sensors.
The device is configured as either a communication master or slave by a single external resistor. Multiple modes of operation offer designers the opportunity to minimize power consumption based on their application needs.
Finally, the communication protocol incorporates a mailbox communication scheme for reading and writing via I2C with the Max20340 managing all communication across the interface.
“Customers demand smaller form factors without sacrificing features and performance. The Max20340 enables wireless earbud and bio-sensing ring makers to create the comfortable, lightweight products consumers demand,” said Andrew Baker, managing director, industrial and healthcare business unit at Maxim Integrated.
There is also an evaluation kit available for the chip.
