Jun 28, 2012
By Mark Hastings
Power consumption can mean the difference between a good idea and a great product. The proliferation of portable electronics and the growing focus on green technology has increased the importance of reducing a design's power consumption. The PSoC 3 and PSoC 5 low-power modes allow you to reduce average current draw without limiting functionality, especially when implemented with other power-saving features and techniques. A new application note, AN77900 (http://www.cypress.com/?rID=64554), has just been released to help you become familiar with the power-saving features available in the PSoC 3/5 devices.
AN77900 is available on the Cypress website today, contains:
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An introduction to the low-power features of the PSoC 3/5 devices.
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Information on reducing power consumption in Active and Alternate Active modes.
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Examples, tips, and tricks for success with the Sleep and Hibernate low-power modes, including example code.
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Descriptions and explanations of the registers and API associated with low-power operation.
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Step-by-step instructions for performing accurate power measurements using the Cypress DVK boards.
Example projects for both the PSoC 3 and PSoC 5 are also included with the application note:
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Low-power modes and wakeup source examples for PSoC 3.
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Low-power modes and wakeup source examples for PSoC 5.
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A simple example project with no low-power optimizations.
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The same simple example using low-power techniques.
In addition to the application note and example projects, we're pleased to be able to provide you with a spreadsheet that can be used to perform rough "back of the napkin" type estimates for the average power consumption and battery life of your design. The spreadsheet lets you use up to ten different PSoC 3/5 configurations, with selectable settings for various subsystems and components. Based upon those configurations, the spreadsheet will calculate the average power consumption and show an estimated battery life.
AN77900 is a good starting point for anyone who wants to become more familiar with the PSoC 3/5 low-power features. As with all our documentation, we're happy to hear back from you regarding any additional topics that you'd like to see covered in this application note.
By Greg Reynolds