Currently I am using a 3-pin voltage supervisor (reset) driving a mosfet switching a power pulse to a 100mA load. Does there exist a voltage supervisor whose OUT pin will source that much current? (Typically they source only a logic load of 20mA.)
I was looking at TI's TPS3600 family (battery backup supervisor for low-power processors). It appears that it will drive 300mA. I.e., internally it has a (relatively) high-power switch. That's what I think I am looking for, only that part is way more complicated than I desire (would prefer a pin count of 3 or 4.)
It seems to me that this function would have many uses, for example in "internet of things", where a device would need a power pulse to communicate, if the power pulse were available (if the voltage monitor said it was) and where the power was harvested (not necessarily a battery, and possibly unreliable ultimate power source, i.e. environmental light, vibration, heat.) (I also have studied Ti's BQ25504 harvester, and it won't source much current either, and my application doesn't always need harvesting.)
My actual application is solar powered. I am driving a very small, pager motor at 1.5V and only about 100mA. Often called a "solar engine" circuit: it gathers power until there is enough, then consumes it all, and repeats. Typically for toy, mini robots. Scurrying is really a good word for this application: consume power in fits and jerks.
Also, a typical voltage (reset) monitor doesn't display hysteresis (at least not the kind of hysteresis I want.) I would like a different threshold on the way up from on the way down. E.g. OUT asserted (high) when VCC > 1.5V, OUT remains asserted until VCC < 0.6V. Typical values, but 3V and 1.5V would do as well. (In a typical "solar engine", you play tricks with a diode and capacitor to hold VMON pin on the voltage monitor high past the time when the voltage on the power rail falls.)
Its no big deal, my part count (typical of a 'solar engine' is only 5 with a total pin count of 12, but wouldn't it be nice if there were one 3-pin package for this "solar engine" application?
