SARA-G3 and SARA-U2 series - System Integration Manual 
UBX-13000995 - R26    System description 
    Page 34 of 217 
The RTC has very low power consumption, but is highly temperature dependent. For example, at +25 °C with 
the V_BCKP voltage equal to the typical output value, the current consumption is approximately 2 µA (see the 
“Input characteristics of Supply/Power pins” table in the SARA-G3 series Data Sheet [1] and SARA-U2 series Data 
Sheet  [2]  for  the  detailed  specification),  whereas  at  +70  °C  and  an  equal  voltage  the  current  consumption 
increases to 5-10 µA. 
If V_BCKP is left unconnected and the module main voltage supply is removed from VCC, the RTC is supplied 
from  the  bypass  capacitor  mounted  inside  the  module.  However,  this  capacitor  is  not  able  to  provide  a  long 
buffering time: within few milliseconds the voltage on V_BCKP will go below the valid range (1 V min). This has 
no impact on cellular connectivity, as all the module functionalities do not rely on date and time setting. 
 
1.5.3  Generic digital interfaces supply output (V_INT) 
The same 1.8 V voltage domain used internally to supply the generic digital interfaces of SARA-G3 and SARA-U2 
series modules is also available on the V_INT supply output pin, as described in Figure 19. 
 
Baseband 
Processor
51
VCC
52
VCC
53
VCC
4
V_INT
Switching
Step-Down
Digital I/O 
Interfaces
Power 
Management
SARA-G3 / SARA-U2 series
 
Figure 19: SARA-G3 and SARA-U2 series interfaces supply output (V_INT) simplified block diagram 
The  internal  regulator  that  generates  the  V_INT  supply  is  a  switching  step-down  converter  that  is  directly 
supplied from VCC. The voltage regulator output is set to 1.8 V (typical) when the module is switched on and it 
is disabled when the module is switched off. 
The switching regulator operates in Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) for greater efficiency at high output loads 
when the module is in active mode or in connected mode. When the module is in low power idle mode between 
paging periods and with power saving configuration enabled by the appropriate AT command, it automatically 
switches  to  Pulse  Frequency  Modulation  (PFM)  for  greater  efficiency  at  low  output  loads.  See  the  u-blox  AT 
Commands Manual [3], +UPSV command.