POWERQUARK has simultaneously launched two new flagship in-vehicle charging chips — the high-power buck-boost converter PQ87550Q/PQ87580Q with a fully integrated USB PD solution, and the Type-C/PD fast charge controller PQ2166Q that supports private charging protocols. These two products focus on the current pain points of slow charging speed and poor compatibility in in-vehicle chargers, significantly enhancing the power and efficiency of in-vehicle charging. They also support a wider range of charging protocols and diverse terminal applications such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops, injecting stronger power into in-vehicle charging systems. Currently, POWERQUARK offers a rich portfolio of products in the in-vehicle charging field, continuously leading the in-vehicle charging market through forward-looking product layouts while meeting different customer needs.
Addressing Industry Pain Points to Enhance In-Vehicle Charging Experience
Compared with the rapidly developing smartphone fast-charging market, current in-vehicle chargers still face the challenge of low charging efficiency. The charging speed of the same terminal device is significantly reduced when charging in a vehicle, affecting the user experience. On the one hand, the power of the current in-vehicle wired charging system is limited, with a gap compared to smartphone fast-charging solutions that can reach over 100W. On the other hand, the protocol compatibility of in-vehicle charging systems is relatively poor, usually supporting only a single mainstream fast-charging protocol, and unable to fully utilize the charging efficiency advantages of some terminal devices' private protocols.
Based on these insights, POWERQUARK has taken a two-pronged approach. Building on its existing in-vehicle charging chip family, the company has upgraded and iterated its products from the perspectives of high power and private protocol compatibility to enhance in-vehicle charging efficiency and experience, and to drive the development of the in-vehicle fast-charging market.
High-Power Single-Chip Integrated Solution for Faster In-Vehicle Charging
PQ87550Q/PQ87580Q are buck-boost converters that integrate four MOSFETs and a USB PD controller. They are packaged in a 22-pin, 4mm × 5mm wettable flank QFN package, with a wide input voltage range of 4.5V to 36V, capable of outputting voltages from 3.3V to 22.5V and supporting a maximum continuous output current of up to 5A. PQ87550Q and PQ87580Q single-chip solutions can support charging powers of up to 60W and 100W, respectively. PQ87550Q does not require external MOSFETs, saving on system BOM costs and perfectly matching high-power in-vehicle fast-charging applications.
The chips adopt current-mode control, offering faster transient response and better loop stability. For example, the peak efficiency of PQ87550Q can reach over 97%, and the surface peak temperature under full-load conditions can be as low as 62.7°C.
*Test Conditions: FPWM mode, no spread spectrum or line loss compensation, F(SW) = 420kHz, R(SENSE) = 5mΩ
PQ87550Q/PQ87580Q are compatible with programmable power supply functions and support various mainstream charging protocols, including USB PD3.1, QC2.0/QC3.0, Huawei FCP, BC1.2, and 3A Divider Mode, providing an all-in-one universal protocol support for users.
In terms of safety, these two chips offer comprehensive protection mechanisms, including input overvoltage protection, output overvoltage protection, cycle-by-cycle current limiting, DP/DM/CCx short-to-battery and short-to-output protection, output short-circuit protection, average output current limiting, and thermal shutdown protection. They can also automatically reduce output power when the battery voltage is low or the temperature is high to ensure system safety. The power management state machine of PQ87550Q is shown in the figure below:
For multi-port in-vehicle charging applications, two same chips can be paralleled for dual PD ports and can also achieve intelligent distribution of total energy.
Supporting Private Protocols to Say Goodbye to the Era of Incompatible In-Vehicle Chargers
PQ2166Q is an automotive-grade Type-C/PD and DPDM fast charge controller with integrated feedback compensation. It is compatible with the latest Type-C, PD3.1, SCP, and UFCS protocols and can also support high-voltage fast charging private protocols through the DPDM interface.
Based on a highly integrated design, PQ2166Q is packaged in a 24-pin, 4mm × 4mm QFN package. It integrates various components such as the physical layer, voltage and current sensing, analog-to-digital/digital-to-analog converters, gate drivers, interfaces, and protection circuits, minimizing external components and providing a cost-effective solution for in-vehicle charging applications.
PQ2166Q also supports a variety of protection mechanisms, including overvoltage protection, undervoltage protection, overcurrent protection, short-circuit protection, overtemperature protection, DPDM overvoltage protection, CC overvoltage protection, VCONN overvoltage protection, VCONN overcurrent protection, and VCONN short-circuit protection, ensuring stable and reliable system operation.
