Hi everyone!
Yay my very first post! : )
TL;DR: What are the best practices to regulate multiple voltage levels (3.3 V, 1.8 V, 5 V altogether) in a battery powered device? Linear regulators vs. switching converters?
[Background]I am a software engineer, trying to learn and produce stuff in electronics. The portable audio recorders that accept single or differential line input are among the relatively expensive music production gears e.g.
https://www.amazon.ca/Zoom-H4n-Pro-Handy-Recorder/dp/B01DPOXS8I. I want to create a low-power, low-quality, cheap version, for myself.
So far I have been browsing the various ADCs and codecs, mostly from TI. Several ICs I liked:
These guys need multiple voltage levels to operate, not to mention the microprocessor is going to need perhaps yet another voltage level (5 V?)
[Problem]As I am aiming for a portable solution, I need to get all these levels from a single battery, most likely a li-ion of some sort. Being a noob, I am not quite certain how I should go about creating all these different levels.
[What I can think of as a solution]- Boost using a boost DC-DC converter to 5 V. Then use multiple buck converters to drop back to what you need
- Boost to 5 V -> Use linear regulator to lower to what you need, i.e. AMS1117
- Ditch lithium, use 2 AAA, use several boost ICs only -eliminates charging circuit too, but no more chargeable feature.
- Ditch lithium, use 4 AAA, use several linear AMS1117s -eliminates charging circuit too, but no more chargeable feature, heavier, less efficient, on a second thought why did I list this?
- Scour Digikey to find a single-voltage IC. (Not feeling lucky)
[Question]Under these circumstances, what would a pro suggest to handle multiple voltage levels using a single lithium (or some other sort) battery(ies)? I understand there may be many factors going into this, however I am mostly curious about what the industry standards are for portable battery powered devices' voltage management (yeah, probably 10 hrs. worth of lectures to begin with but still).
I will order most of the things I talked about and try on my own anyhow. That said, I'm welcome to hear any feedback/advice and could use a direction.
Thanks!