Smoke alarms and video doorbells usually need little power—until something big happens. Clouds of smoke blacken your ceiling. Crowds of trick-or-treaters push your doorbell. Both events cause peak loads on the devices, causing sudden spikes in battery power needs. To handle those spikes, a converter is needed. Not just for devices like these, but for even more critical devices in medical and industrial settings.

Now Dallas-based Texas Instruments has released a new converter that supports peak loads and backup power for continuous operation, while delivering a huge bonus: It doubles as a battery’s power output and can extend battery life up to 20 percent.

New converter has a very low IQ—and that’s a good thing

The DC/DC converter—TPS61094—has an ultra-low quiescent current, or I_{Q, enabling the converter to reach a new level of supercapacitor charging and discharging, TI says.}

_{The new converter has one-third the “IQ” of competing converters, helping engineers design battery operated systems with high} efficiency at no- or light-load conditions.

Can be used in applications that run on a single battery for 10+ years

TI says the converter’s advanced abilities can enable engineers to replace hybrid layer capacitors with supercapacitors—including in applications that must need to run on a single battery for 10 years or more.

Also supports IoT, Bluetooth, LTE-M, and other radio standards

The new converter does more than extend battery life. Its doubled output allows it to support radio standards like narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), LTE-M, Bluetooth, and more over a wider input voltage range, according to TI.

Engineers can use it to simplify designs and control the “handshake” between device functions for more seamless transitions. The converter also offers the potential for back-up powered applications that require a safe power-down or “last-gasp” communication in a power outage.

Want to geek out on the tech details? You’ll find them here.

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