Need Uninterrupted Power? Let A Supercapacitor Come To The Rescue
by Bonnie Baker, Maxim Integrated, Tucson, Ariz., How2Power Today, Dec 18 2018
Focus:
A supercapacitor or supercap can deflect a crash condition, allowing backup of critical data
by providing a temporary backup current source. This sounds encouraging, but some of the
supercap’s characteristics can inhibit a smooth recovery. This article shows how to use a
supercap as a real-world charge and discharge solution in a power backup application. In
particular, the use of a boost function to overcome supercap voltage limitations and extract
more of the supercap’s usable energy is explained. Finally, an integrated design solution based
on the MAX38888 backup power regulator is presented. This regulator manages charge and
discharge of the super cap. Supercap characteristics are described and compared with those of
Li-ion batteries and tantalum capacitors. Formulas are given for calculating backup time and
supercap value.
What you’ll learn:
- How to implement a supercap-based power backup circuit
- How to calculate the capacitance value and backup time for supercap-based power backup
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