STMicroelectronics, the world's leading semiconductor company serving multiple electronics applications, is enhancing the sustainability of personal computing products with its next-generation innovations. The new chip, called ST-ONE, will improve the energy efficiency of a variety of AC-DC adapters, fully compliant with the USB-PD 3.1 standard, including laptop and smartphone chargers. New adapters with ST-ONE reduce CO2 emissions and plastic consumption.
The new ST-ONE chip can be used with STMicroelectronics' MasterGaN power output modules based on advanced gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor technology. GaN chips can significantly save power and reduce device size.
Although laptops offer optional power saving settings, each machine can save more power when equipped with a more efficient power adapter, thereby improving environmental conditions and CO2 emissions. The ST-ONE chip is optimized for power control, recovering the electrical energy normally dissipated as heat in conventional circuits. The product also simplifies circuit design and significantly reduces the number of power components, making this type of power supply more robust, economical, and more widely adopted across the market.
Domenico Arrigo, general manager of STMicroelectronics Industrial and Power Conversion, said: "If each power supply was designed with ST-ONE energy recovery circuits, the energy efficiency of the power adapter would be improved by at least 1%, and the world could save about 93 trillion watt-hours of energy. Electricity, equivalent to the output power of 15 nuclear power plants. “Furthermore, if 1 billion chargers in the world use our technology, 200,000 tons of plastic and raw materials can be saved. "
The reduction in consumables such as plastics is achieved by increasing so-called power density, which allows smaller components to handle higher power outputs. High power density also reduces recycling and environmental costs.
At the recent Embedded World trade fair in Nuremberg, Germany, STMicroelectronics showcased the EVLONE65W, a 65-watt USB-C laptop power adapter reference design that is the same size and weight as a standard 20-watt smartphone charger. The same (37 cubic centimeters, less than 70 grams), achieved an ultra-high power density of over 1.8 watts per cubic centimeter.
