This application note discusses the hardware and firmware implementation details of interfacing an external system (application) microcontroller to the Dolphin chipset. The system microcontroller performs all the application and system level tasks and is needed to set up the operation of the Dolphin chipset.
Texas Instruments has developed evaluation software that interfaces to the Dolphin chipset through hardware UART interface of the DBB03A digital baseband ASIC. However in real end applications, an external system microcontroller is needed to emulate the features of the Dolphin evaluation software. This evaluation software was purely developed for demo purposes. Any catalog low-cost microcontroller can be interfaced to the Dolphin chipset as long as they follow the Dolphin host interface protocol (SWRA043) for communication.
Texas Instruments recommends its ultra-low power MSP430 series of microcontrollers to interface with Dolphin. Specifically the firmware in this application note was developed for MSP430F1121A microcontroller.
The TPS62125 is a DCS-Control™ topology synchronous buck dc-to-dc converter designed for low-power applications. It features a wide operating input voltage range from 3 V to 17 V, 300-mA output current, and adjustable output voltage of 1.2 V to 10 V. This device is well-suited for applications such as ultra lowpower microprocessors, energy harvesting, and low-power RF applications. Moreover, the TPS62125 can be configured in an inverting buck-boost topology, where the output voltage is inverted or negative with respect to ground. This application note describes the TPS62125 in an inverting buck-boost topology for use in low current negative rails for operational amplifier or optical module biasing and other low-power applications.
While using a Snubber circuit is very common for flyback design, suppressing the stress of MOSFET is not the only design consideration for snubber. The Snubber circuit will also impact the efficiency, standby power, and EMI performance. This paper reviews the working principle of snubber and illustrates the diode selection for RCD/R2CD and TVS Snubber.