Chapter · Power and protection

Regulating a rail

A lithium cell starts above 3.3 V and finishes below it. One chip bucks, then boosts, and holds the rail through the crossing, at 20 µA while the board sleeps.

  1. 13A buck-boost converter9 minA lithium cell starts at 4.2 V and finishes at 3.0 V, and an ESP32 wants 3.3 V the whole way. A buck-boost converter steps the voltage down while the cell is above the rail and up once it is below. The TPS631000 does both with one coil, and while the board sleeps it costs about 20 µA, as long as its MODE pin is low.

Start at 13 and read down — the order is the order things get easier in. Or take the one with your part in it; every article stands on its own, and links back to whatever it needs.