Stmicro port protection IC is tailored for STM32 USB-C dual role power transmission

     The STmicro TCPP03-M20 USB Type-C port protection IC is tailored for dual-role power transmission (DRP) applications, simplifying the design of bidirectional charge and discharge products that can charge connected devices and accept other USB-C power sources.

     As a supporting chip for STM32G0*, STM32G4, STM32L5 and STM32U5 microcontrollers with ST UCPD (USB Type-C and Power Delivery) interface IP module, TCPP03-M20 allows designers to implement USB Type-C interface hardware partitioning in an economical and cost-effective way, and realize a dual-chip solution with STM32 as the main microcontroller, so as to save bill of material cost, reduce PCB circuit board space, and reduce circuit complexity.

     According to the definition of USB Type-C specification, a USB-C dual role transmission device, such as smart speaker, smartphone, tablet, laptop, camera, etc., can dynamically change the transmission role from receiving to transmitting, the USB data role from device to host, and vice versa. This enables new use cases for saving and sharing power between battery-powered devices and extends device interoperability. The USB DRP function defined in the Type-C specification allows any USB device with a built-in stmicroelectronics chip to charge the battery of the connected device.

     TCPP03-M20 adopts the BCD manufacturing process of stmicroelectronics. This process has recently passed IEEE Milestone certification to integrate logic and high-voltage circuits on the same chip for improved integration and reliability, enabling ±8kV ESD protection (IEC61000-4-2 Level 4), overvoltage and overcurrent protection on the same chip. These protection functions are essential to protect against unexpected short circuit accidents or connection failures of devices, in accordance with USB-C Power Delivery technical specifications. The chip integrates two lines of VCONN and CC switches for USB-C ports. Source and Sink channel charge pumps with two N-channel MOSFET gate drivers; VBUS and VCONN power path discharge circuits, and no-charge battery management.

     The TCPP03-M20 optimizes ultra-low power performance and is specifically designed for USB DRP use cases, ensuring outstanding energy efficiency for application devices. Stmicro's TCPP01-M12 and TCPP02-M18 BCD ics are stand-alone Power Sink and Power Source(supply and receive) solutions. Like all of STmicro's TCPP products, the TCPP03-M20 complies with the latest features of the USB-C PD Specification 3.1 standard Power range (SPR), including PPS (Programmable Power Supply).

     The STM32 Nucleo extension board X-NUCLEO-DRP1M1 and X-CUBE-TCPP STM32Cube extension software and application code samples are now available to help accelerate the development of up to 100W DRP application projects based on TCPP03-M20. Developers can also take advantage of STM32CubeMX's UCPD configuration support, STM32G071B-DISCO USB-C sniffer, and STM32CubeMonitor-UCPD debugging tools. The Power Sink receiving development board X-NUCLEO-SNK1M1 board is now available, while the Power Source Delivering development board X-NUCLEO-SRC1M1 is scheduled for release in the fourth quarter of 2021.