Highest Accuracy Battery Fuel Gauge from Maxim Integrated Maximizes Battery Capacity and Boosts User Confidence

SAN JOSE, Calif., March 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. (NASDAQ: MXIM) today announced that it is sampling the MAX17050, the industry's highest accuracy battery fuel gauge. It uses the company's patented ModelGauge™ m3 algorithm, which improves upon the traditional coulomb counting approach by combining it with the patented voltage-based ModelGauge approach. The MAX17050 provides the best possible accuracy, uses 4x less power, and shrinks solutions by 3x compared to competitive devices. The device is ideal for portable applications where battery capacity and state-of-charge accuracy is critical, including smartphones, tablets, mobile radios, battery backup, and portable medical/fitness equipment.

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Battery fuel gauge designs often depend on coulomb counting technology. Although coulomb counting is highly accurate at first, it tends to drift over time. The MAX17050 uniquely integrates the short-term accuracy and linearity of a coulomb counter with the excellent long-term stability of a ModelGauge fuel gauge. The ModelGauge m3 technology makes continuous microcorrections and eliminates sudden jumps in a battery's state of charge (SOC). Users can trust the resulting battery capacity and state information, including the health and maximum battery usage. The MAX17050 functionality is also integrated into the company's TINI® Power System-on-Chip (SoC) to make it easier to upgrade designs to more complex systems.

Key Advantages

• Best possible accuracy: integrated coulomb counting and ModelGauge technology automatically compensate for aging, temperature, and discharge rate; provides accurate SOC and time-to-empty over a wide range of operating conditions, as well as battery health information.
• Extends battery capacity: sophisticated SOC, voltage, and temperature alerts allow the system microprocessor to remain in sleep mode longer.
• Upgrade path to full power management: the MAX17050 functionality is available in a Power SoC with identical IP to facilitate a complete power-management solution in a shortened time to market.

Industry Commentary

• "Mobile device manufacturers are increasingly paying attention to enhancing user experience to set themselves apart from their competition," said Bakul Damle, Business Director at Maxim Integrated. "Having a trustworthy fuel gauge to correctly inform the user about the battery status, as well as the health of the battery, helps achieve this goal. Moreover, this best-in-class fuel gauge IP block is available for integration in Maxim Integrated's highly integrated Power SoC."
• "The latest battery fuel gauge devices predict battery life, not only in terms of state of charge, but also in terms of remaining time-to-empty and battery health," said Susie Inouye, Research Director at Databeans. "This is a critical factor in the performance of embedded battery-powered portable applications. Worldwide revenue for fuel gauge devices is growing at a compound annual growth rate of over 13%."

Availability and Pricing

• Available in a 0.4mm pitch, 9-bump wafer-level package (WLP).
• Pricing starts at $1.51 (1000-up, FOB USA).

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ModelGauge is a trademark and TINI is a registered trademark of Maxim Integrated Products, Inc.

About Maxim Integrated

At Maxim Integrated, we put analog together in a way that sets our customers apart. In Fiscal 2012, we reported revenues of $2.4 billion.

SOURCE Maxim Integrated Products, Inc.