Intersil's Highly Integrated Battery Pack Monitor Protects and Extends Life of Multi-Cell Li-ion Batteries

MILPITAS, Calif., Aug. 24, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Intersil Corporation (NASDAQ: ISIL), a leading provider of innovative power management and precision analog solutions, today announced the ISL94203 3-to-8 cell battery pack monitor that supports lithium-ion (Li-ion) and other battery chemistries used in medical mobility carts, wheelchairs, e-bikes, handheld power tools, vacuum cleaners and solar or renewable energy storage systems. Available now through Intersil's worldwide distribution partners, the device accurately monitors, protects and cell balances rechargeable battery packs to maximize battery life and ensure safe charging and system operation. 

OEMs are moving away from NiCd and lead-acid batteries to embrace the more environmentally friendly Li-ion battery chemistries. Li-ion batteries are smaller, weigh less, and deliver longer battery life, but require monitoring and protection for safe use. The ISL94203 functions as a stand-alone battery management system for rechargeable Li-ion battery packs. Its internal state machine has five pre-programmed stages that accurately control each cell of a battery pack to extend operating life. The ISL94203 integrates high-side charge/discharge FET drive circuitry, which allows customers to securely ground reference the battery pack to their designs.

The ISL94203 includes several programmable protection and monitoring features to safeguard battery packs from catastrophic events such as short circuit conditions and cell voltage shorts. It has an open wire check to ensure the IC is securely connected to the battery pack. The device also has a special protection feature that blows a polyfuse to render the battery pack inoperable in the event of a catastrophic failure. In addition to delivering diagnostic information, the ISL94203 can withstand battery pack hot plug events and support the full range of Li-ion chemistries.

"Intersil's highly integrated battery pack monitor makes it easy to design Li-ion rechargeable battery management systems," said Philip Chesley, senior vice president of Precision Products at Intersil. "Our customers value the feature-rich ISL94203's ability to extend battery life, and deliver cell balancing accuracy and fast response to rapidly changing loads."

Key features and specifications

• Highest level of integration: cell voltage level shift, automatic cell balance, 14-bit ADC, current sense monitor, power FET control, temperature sensor interface
• Eight cell voltage monitors support Li-ion CoO₂, Li-ion Mn₂O₄, Li-ion phosphate and other battery chemistries
• Operates as a standalone solution or with a microcontroller
• Integrated charge pump controls cutoff FETs used to charge/discharge battery pack
• Multiple cell voltage protection options up to 4.8V
• Programmable detection/recovery times for over-voltage, under-voltage, over-current and short circuit conditions
• Open wire detection
• EEPROM storage for device configuration
• Power saving algorithm activated when battery pack is not in use

Pricing and Availability
The ISL94203 battery pack monitor is available now through Intersil's worldwide network of authorized distributors. The ISL94203 comes in a 6mm x 6mm, 48-lead TQFN package, and is priced at $2.19 USD in 1k quantities.

The ISL94203EVKIT1Z evaluation kit is priced at $328 USD, and includes an evaluation board, interface board with USB to I2C interface, and software GUI that supports stand-alone operation or an external microcontroller.

For more information on the ISL94203 3-to-8 cell Li-ion battery pack monitor, evaluation kit and interface board, please visit: www.intersil.com/products/isl94203.

About Intersil 
Intersil Corporation is a leading provider of innovative power management and precision analog solutions. The company's products form the building blocks of increasingly intelligent, mobile and power hungry electronics, enabling advances in power management to improve efficiency and extend battery life. With a deep portfolio of intellectual property and a rich history of design and process innovation, Intersil is the trusted partner to leading companies in some of the world's largest markets, including industrial and infrastructure, mobile computing, automotive and aerospace. For more information about Intersil, visit our website at www.intersil.com.

Intersil and the Intersil logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intersil Corporation. All other brands, product names and marks are or may be trademarks or registered trademarks used to identify products or services of their respective owners.

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SOURCE Intersil Corporation

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