IC manages sensors without waking the MCU
The nPZ2100 sensor-management and power-saving IC (PSIC) from Nanopower provides autonomous control for battery-constrained sensor systems. Based on the nPZero power-reduction architecture, the device manages sensors and peripherals while keeping the host MCU powered down until needed. This approach enables a simple operating principle: sense, decide, wake, and process.
With typical idle current consumption of just 200 nA at 3.0 V and polling current of 1 µA, the nPZ2100 can autonomously manage up to six independent peripherals through I²C or SPI interfaces. It integrates four 1-mA peripheral power switches and a dedicated 10-mA host power switch. The device also includes 256 bytes of SRAM for data logging, a three-channel ADC with battery monitoring, a 32-bit timer with alarm and watchdog, and a 32-bit counter, as well as power-aware operation for energy harvesting.
In addition to the MCU, the nPZ2100 can also power down peripherals when they are not required, helping eliminate their idle power consumption. Nanopower says that by taking over sensor communication and system monitoring while the host MCU is powered down, the nPZ2100 can significantly reduce the host’s active time and overall system energy consumption.
Development kits and engineering samples are planned to be available in September 2026, with full product release and volume manufacturing slated for Q2 2027.
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