Battery management

Microchip Technology has announced two families of charge-management controllers featuring overvoltage protection to prevent overheating and damage to the battery-charger circuit from input-voltage spikes.

The MCP73113, MCP73114 and MCP73213 lithium-ion (Li-Ion), and MCP73123, MCP73223 lithium ion phosphate (LiFePO₄) chargers feature good voltage regulation and an integrated pass transistor. The combination of features enables smaller, safer portable electronic device designs with longer run times.

The chargers address increased consumer focus on the safety and efficiency of battery-powered applications. All the devices have a maximum input voltage of 18 V and are supplied with one of two OVP setpoints - 5.8 and 6.5 V for the single-cell 73114 and 73113/23 chargers; or 13 V for the dual-cell 73213 and 73123 chargers.

Additionally, the 73113, 73114 and 73213 devices provide a variety of charging-voltage options for Li-Ion batteries - 4.1 to 4.4 V for the single-cell and 8.2 to 8.8 V for the dual-cell devices. The MCP73123 and MCP73223 devices target LiFePO₄ batteries and offer charging-voltage options of 3.6 and 7.2 V.

The 73113 and 73114 Li-Ion, and 73123 LiFePO₄ single-cell chargers feature high-accuracy voltage regulation of 0.5%; the dual-cell 73213 Li-Ion and 73223 LiFePO₄ devices, 0.6%.

The accurate levels of regulation enable longer battery life per charge and all the chargers feature an integrated pass transistor that eliminates the need for an external FET.

Two evaluation boards to support the new chargers have been announced. The MCP73113 OVP single-cell Li-Ion battery charger evaluation board provides users with a platform to test the basic functionality of single-cell Li-Ion battery charging at 4.2 V, with 6.5 V overvoltage protection.

The MCP73213 board enables users to test the basic functionality of a dual-cell Li-Ion battery charging at 8.4 V, with 13 V overvoltage protection.