STMicroelectronics has expanded its USB-C controller IC family with a small-footprint product, the STUSB4500L, which is designed and certified for pure 5V sink-only applications. All mandatory features to use the USB-C connector as a 5V universal power plug are integrated, allowing designers to implement USB-C charging solutions quickly and easily without studying the standard or writing code.

USB-C is rapidly becoming established as a replacement for Micro-B or Mini-B plugs, for both power and data connections, as it offers the advantages of reversible orientation and greater robustness — up to 10,000 connect/disconnect cycles.

ST’s new USB-C controller IC is a stand-alone, plug-and-play interface product, targeting low-voltage applications such as Bluetooth speakers, computer accessories, Wi-Fi access points, point-of-sale equipment, LED lighting, and USB dongles. It can also be used for powering equipment such as single-board computers and hardware development kits. The controller IC runs without additional code and requires no external support from the microcontroller, which eases adoption of the USB-C connector standard by saving time-consuming design work.

The STUSB4500L is auto-powered via VBUS from the connected source and does not need to be supplied from a local battery or on-board power. Zero leakage current prevents draining the battery when not charging. Input over-voltage protection prevents low-voltage equipment being damaged if it is incorrectly connected, for example, to a 20V source from a USB PD AC adapter rather than the required 5V supply.

Further features include ‘dead-battery’ support to ensure correct identification by the source when the battery is fully discharged, true cold-socket implementation which keeps the VBUS switch open by default until safe 5V input power is supplied, source power-budget identification and error-recovery support to ensure correct re-starting when a fault is triggered.

The STUSB4500L is in production now, in a choice of 4mm x 4mm QFN-24 package or 2.6mm x 2.6mm CSP-25 chip-scale package, priced from $0.70 and $0.75 respectively for orders of 1000 pieces.

To ease prototyping, the reference design EVAL-SCS002V1, which has a small footprint of just 2.5 cm², can be ordered from ST or distributors. For fast implementation into proprietary designs, the full PCB design libraries can be downloaded free of charge from st.com.

For more information please visit www.st.com/stusb4500l-pr.