AN-1050: EnerChip™ EH with TI LaunchPad

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AN-72-1050 Rev A

Page 3 of 6

CBC-EVAL-10 EnerChip CC Solar Energy Harvester

CBC-EVAL-10 is a demonstration kit that provides designers a platform to easily develop Energy Harvesting (EH)

Figure 4) combines a small solar panel, power management circuit, energy storage, regulated output voltage,

and input/output pins for connection to commercially available microcontroller (MCU) and radio boards. A 16-

pin CBC51100 module is included, providing the EH functions, battery management, and 100µAh solid state

rechargeable energy storage. CBC-EVAL-10 is a practical, low cost realization of an EH-based power system that

can provide many years of service without need of battery maintenance. Figure 3 illustrates the basic configuration

of the EnerChip CC circuit as implemented on the CBC-EVAL-10 development module designed for evaluating the

EnerChip CC devices in energy harvesting applications. The CBC-EVAL-10 data sheet is located here:

http://www.cymbet.com/content/products-resource-docs.asp. The EVAL-10 is available at Avnet, Digi-Key and

Mouser.

Figure 4: CBC-EVAL-10 Demo Kit Connected to the LaunchPad.

Photovoltaic

Cells

Input Power Tracking

Battery Management

Power Management

Energy Storage

Output Voltage

Regulation

I/O Control

External Battery

and Control

(Optional)

Connecting the CBC-EVAL-10 to the TI LaunchPad

After connecting the TI LaunchPad to a PC via the USB cable, it must be disconnected before connecting the

EVAL-10.

The white cable included in the EVAL-10 kit is used to connect the two kits together (see Figure 4). The cable is

placed over all five pins on EVAL-10 J9 and all three pins on the TI LaunchPad J6 connector. Ensure that pin 5 on

the EVAL-10 connector is connected to VCC on the LaunchPad.

Also, in order to avoid EH powering the entire TI LaunchPad board vs. just the MSP430 MCU, the LaunchPad J3

VCC and RST connector jumpers must be removed and set aside. These are to be restored for USB operation.

Figure 3: Implementing Energy Harvesting with the EnerChip CC CBC3150 on the CBC-EVAL-10 Evaluation Kit.