Power management chips are developing towards multi-phase and high current

　　However, as the saying goes, "long separations must merge, and long mergers must separate." Application processor manufacturers such as MediaTek and Qualcomm, which provide public board platforms, used to tend to integrate all power management chips into the power management unit. However, as the size and functions of smartphones and tablets change with each passing day, they have recently released orders for power management chips to meet the needs of different application equipment system manufacturers. For example, Qualcomm's MSM8x25Q and MSM8225Q, two processor platforms for high-end smartphones, did not integrate the PWM (pulse width modulation) chip required for the image processor power design when they were first developed. Instead, they cooperated with power IC suppliers to save time for self-development, which helped the processors to be launched quickly.

　　Moreover, as these mobile devices have more stringent requirements for power consumption and more complex applications, the relevant market has an increasing demand for a variety of power management chips, further promoting the development of power management chip technology and market in the future. Overall, power management chips have been developing in the direction of multi-phase and high current designs to meet the requirements of the new generation of mobile devices for small size, low power consumption and high conversion efficiency.

　　Powerful image processing capabilities, driving higher input current

　　One of the development trends of power management for smartphones and tablets is that as the performance of image processors in mobile devices becomes increasingly powerful, the demand for greater input current is increased, which in turn drives the demand for multi-phase DC-DC buck converters (Buck Converters), hoping to further increase the input current of tablet devices by improving conversion efficiency. In fact, after the two-phase DC-DC buck converter was launched two years ago, four-phase and six-phase products have been launched in the market since 2013.

　　In addition, as the screen size and functions of smartphones become increasingly diversified, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and original design manufacturers (ODMs) have begun to build more DC-DC converters and low-dropout linear regulators (LDOs) into mobile phones to overcome power consumption challenges. It is understood that the number of DC-DC converters in mobile phones was about three to four two years ago, but now it has increased to five to six; and the number of low-dropout linear regulators was five to ten two years ago, but now it has increased significantly to more than twenty.

　　In order to meet the power management needs of mobile devices, the non-CPU power management chip launched by German company DIALOG Semiconductor highly integrates various functions such as low-dropout linear regulator, DC-DC converter, analog-to-digital converter (ADC), battery charger and real-time clock (RTC).

　　Dialog has also added an audio codec IC to the power management chip. Dialog recently announced that this solution has been adopted by Samsung's smartphone platform in South Korea. The Dialog D2199 power management IC with integrated audio function will be installed in the Samsung Galaxy Trend 3. Dialog President Jalal Bagherli said that the D2199

　　The chip can provide an optimized and efficient power management solution, which not only has better and more efficient battery management functions, but also has high-end audio functions. These features will bring better experience and greater convenience to smartphone users. The highly integrated chip can make the printed circuit board (PCB) smaller and significantly reduce the used space, thereby reducing manufacturing costs.

　　Smartphone Power Management IC Output Value and Forecast, 2011~2015

　　In addition, Dialog announced at the end of last year that it would cooperate with Richtek Technology to develop power management solutions. The two companies will develop differentiated power management solutions, targeting the large and rapidly growing market of smartphones and tablets in mainland China.

　　Regarding this cooperation, Richtek Technology General Manager Xie Shuliang said that Dialog's highly integrated power management technology, combined with Richtek's diverse product lines and distribution advantages in Asia, can help both parties develop products with leading technology and cost advantages. Dialog's Bagherli also pointed out that the complementarity of the two companies can allow each other to lead the industry in product integration, technical performance and time to market. In addition, China is expected to produce more than 500 million smartphones in 2014, and the cooperation will bring excellent growth opportunities for both parties in this market.

　　In fact, the demand for power management units in mobile devices continues to rise, and many analog IC manufacturers are also trying to expand into new areas outside the PC market. Therefore, many companies are actively deploying power management unit-related products required for smart mobile applications such as mobile phones and tablets. Among them, Richtek has delivered outstanding results.

　　As functions become more complex, the demand for sub-power management units increases

　　Currently, Richtek is actively transforming from PC and TV to mobile device power management. Richtek's sub-power management unit (sub-PMU) has successfully entered Samsung's smartphone supply chain, which can be said to be a great victory for the company in the mobile device market. In this regard, Richtek spokesman Zhang Guocheng said that Richtek's long-term layout in smartphones has finally borne fruit.

　　The main result is a significant increase in orders for sub-power management units used in smartphones. He also emphasized that as smartphones become more complex, more sub-power management units will be needed to share the work of PMUs, so Richtek is optimistic about the long-term development of this product. Looking at Richtek's product portfolio in the fourth quarter of 2013, consumer electronics accounted for 29%,

　　The communications category accounted for 24%, computers accounted for 39%, and others accounted for 8%.

　　What is a sub-power management unit? In short, a sub-power management unit is a product used to assist PMU. The demand is mostly limited to high-end smart phones with high chip core counts, relatively complex functions, and more particular power management functions. It is understood that in the past, the power management ICs used in the mobile device market were mainly monopolized by baseband chip manufacturers, such as MediaTek, Spreadtrum, Qualcomm, and specific suppliers with close ties to Apple. However, as smartphone specifications continue to increase, evolving from single-core chips to dual-core, quad-core, and even octa-core chips, mobile devices have more complex power requirements, so the demand for sub-power management units in high-end mobile devices has also emerged and grown.

　　Fast charging function boosts demand for high-efficiency synchronous rectification control ICs

　　Another noteworthy trend in the development of mobile phone power technology is the rise of fast charging functions in mobile phones. Currently, more and more mobile phone OEMs and charger developers are considering using high-efficiency synchronous rectification control ICs in secondary circuit design to further replace Schottky diodes, allowing new fast charging chargers with 5V/3A single output or 5V/4A dual output to achieve a conversion efficiency of more than 87%, which has led to a gradual increase in demand for high-efficiency synchronous rectification control ICs.

　　In response to this trend, Qualcomm has recently promoted the QuickCharge 2.0 fast charging standard. It is understood that compared with the traditional universal serial bus (USB) charging solution, the QuickCharge 2.0 communication standard proposed by Qualcomm can increase the charging speed by about 75%, and can charge 60% of the power of a 3,300 mAh battery in 30 minutes, reaching the standard that allows consumers to use it for a sufficient period of time. Qualcomm has now developed related charger ICs with several power management chip manufacturers such as Power Integrations, Dialog and Fairchild to help the industry create mobile phones and chargers with fast charging capabilities.

　　In general, due to the different requirements of system developers for the power management specifications of smartphones and tablet devices, processor platform manufacturers have begun to simplify the design of processor power management units and release more power management chip orders, hoping to accelerate the processor's market launch process through cooperation with power IC suppliers.

　　Therefore, in terms of market size, with the rapid development of various smart mobile devices, including tablets and smart phones, the power management market is expected to continue to grow. According to data from research firm iSuppli, the global power management IC market is expected to grow by 7.6% this year to $32.2 billion, thanks to the expansion of terminal applications, and will grow to $38.7 billion in 2016.

　　According to a report by TRI, smartphones and tablets have become the main driving force for the growth of the consumer electronics market. Under this trend, the demand for PC-related power management ICs is continuing to decline, and power management ICs for smartphones and tablets have become the main driving force for the growth of power management ICs.

　　It is estimated that the output value of smartphone PMIC will still grow significantly by 25% in 2014 compared with 2013, and the total output value will reach US$2.2 billion, with a promising future.