IC Batteries: The Ultimate FAQs Guide
What is an IC Batteries?
IC batteries are also known as charging IC or controller IC. In most applications, a battery charger IC is used for providing the appropriate current, charge, and voltage for every battery cell. Most controller ICs are popular and hand-held pieces of equipment therefore designed for use in Li-Ion batteries. The battery charger IC measures the battery charge current as well as the battery voltage.
Apart from measuring the battery charge and current, it monitors the pass MOSFET, ensuring that the charge current follows the appropriate modes of charge operation. These modes are pre-conditioning, constant current, constant voltage, and current cut-off methods. Both single and multiple cell switch mode IC batteries have incredibly high, efficient, and advanced features.
The features enhance fast and cool charging of high capacity batteries found I notebooks, smartphones, broad consumers, industrial, and medical applications. Single and multiple-cell switch-mode charger ICs provide high efficiency and advanced features. This ensures faster and cooler charging of high capacity batteries in smartphones, notebooks, and broad consumer, industrial, and medical applications.
Linear charging ICs have superior termination accuracy of current and ultra-low quiescent current. This fact enables the charger IC battery to maximize the running time and ensure adequate battery capacity, which is essential for small battery applications such as IOT, wearable, and telematics e-call.
What are the benefits of the batter charge controller IC?
Charger controller IC prevents overcharging and overvoltages of a battery, which may later affect the battery performance, therefore, pose a safety risk. Charger controller IC also prevents the complete draining of a cell and performs controlled discharges depending on the battery’s technology. Besides, the charger controller IC provides a reliable, cost-efficient, and a correct regulation solution with less exterior components.
What are the features of IC batteries?
Battery controller IC has a wide range of applications in chemistry, especially in Li-Ion, lead-acid, LifePO4, and nickel-based rechargeable batteries. IC batteries have many standard features for battery management, such as current limiting, pre-conditioning, temperature-controlled charging, monitoring, and protection. Battery IC has the potential to support multiple cells, multi-chemistry batteries, and high voltage with one device.
IC battery is also applied in topologies like a line or switching designs where their functioning is entirely autonomous. Lastly, battery IC can be used in; Lithium-ion battery monitoring, industrial monitoring, energy harvesting, wearable devices, PV cell monitoring, and portable equipment. They also provide telemetry through SMBus or I2C interface.
Which are the main components of IC batteries?
The main components of a battery charger IC are transformer, which converts high primary voltage to a lower secondary voltage, LED indicator, which makes it easier to determine the voltage level. It also has a voltage regulator to control voltage produced in the battery, full-wave bridge rectifier, which converts AC (Input alternating current) to DC (Direct current), and capacitor, which serves as a filter.
What is TP4056 IC?
The TP4056 is a cheap Lithium-Ion battery charging IC that supports a consistent current and voltage mechanism in one cell Li-Ion battery. It exists in an eight-pin SOP package and requires less exterior components to construct a Lithium-Ion battery charger circuit. Thermal feedback controls the charge flow to reduce the high temperature when there is an operation of high power or when the ambient temperature is extremely high.
The fixed charge voltage is 4.2V, and one resistor can be used to program the charge current externally. After the last float voltage has been reached, the TP4056 controller IC automatically stops the charge cycle. This happens when the current goes down to 1/10th of the recommended value. Other features of the TP4056 are an automatic recharge, low-voltage lockout, current monitor, a spontaneous recharge, bi- status pin to show that charging has come to a stop and an input voltage.
What is the pin configuration of the TP4056 battery charge controller IC?
The TP4O56 battery charging IC consists of eight pins that are PROG, GND, VCC, STBBY, TEMP, CHRG, BAT, and CE. The pins have various functions. TEMP is an input pin connected to the output of the NTC Thermistor. It is used for sensing temperature. A low voltage of less than 45 percent means that the battery temperature is very much low, while a high voltage of less than 80 percent indicates that the battery temperature is very much high.
PROG is a pin-connected by a resistor called RPROG to GND. Depending on the value of the resistor, the pin sets the charge current to the battery anywhere from 130mA to 1000A.GND is a ground pin. VCC pin supplies power and uses 5V, but tp4056 can support a maximum of 8V.BAT pin connects the battery to the positive terminal with a voltage of 4.2V.
STBY pin has an LED connected to it to show a standby mode. Also, the pin is pulled below when the battery is fully charged, whereas the CHRG pin has an LED connected to it to indicate charging. When the TPO56 is charging, the CHRG pin is pulled below. Lastly, CE is an input pin that enables or disables chip operation. In case the input is high, TP4056 is in normal mode, but in case there is a low input, the IC is disabled.
Which are the main topologies in the Battery charge controller IC?
- Linear topology
An active linear controller IC is comprised of a pair of two-directional blocking switches to separate the input and output terminals. The middle part between the two switches known as PMID powers the system. In case the input is removed, the system voltage varies from input voltage to battery voltage. In most battery chargers, a separation system called power -path management is used to separate the system voltage and battery voltage.
In case the input is present during regular operation, the input is short to the PMID by the first switch. In contrast, the second switch modulates its resistance to control the current and voltage at the battery output. 5V for single-cell Li-Ion batteries supplies many linear charges. They are used to charge currents to a limit of 1A, which can be applied in IC battery cells.
- Buck switch-mode charge topology
The battery charge controller IC comprises four switches. Reverse blocking field-effect transistors that prevent the discharge of battery into the input, a pair of switching FETs that are used as DC or DC buck converter, and a battery FET that helps in power-path management. When an input is present, the system is powered from the buck converter output. In the absence of input, the input is powered by the battery. Buck switch-mode chargers are more efficient than linear chargers.
- Direct charge topology
The IC batteries chargers discussed above deal with the regulation of high voltage. Still, the direct charger transfers the control to an exterior adapter and uses a technique of connecting the input to the output of the charger. This technique can achieve an efficiency of above 96% by shorting FET between VBUS and VBAT. Nowadays, direct charger solutions are fit for extremely high charges of currents ranging from 4A to 8A.
- Dual charging topology
Dual charging involves placing two chargers parallel to each other. This method has been used in the Smartphone industry since 2015. To achieve high current, the main charger gives charge flow and supports the system load while the parallel charger adds to the charging with high efficiency. Dual charging can be used for all types of switching topologies.
What is Dynamic Power Management and Dynamic Power Path Management in IC Batteries?
DPPM and DPM are two features within the battery charger IC that are similar. DPPM is the part of the charger that isolates the system from the battery. It also enhances simultaneous battery charging and delivery of power to the system. Both DPPM and DPM reduce the current in a charging battery to give the system priority in case the system has attained its maximum output current rating.
DPM, on the other hand, monitors and regulates input current ILIM/IINDPM t and input voltage that is VINDPM that goes to the system. It uses a resistor divider between R1 and R2 R2 and comparing it with VREF_VINDPM, which is set by VINDPM_DAC. Both of them are important for use in various situations but complete their task by creating a maximum current level on the input.
Dynamic power-path management (DPPM) manages current depending on the system voltage. In cases where the system voltage falls below a set threshold, because of loss of power or a current-limit limit, the IC battery charging current significantly reduces to avoid any further drop in the system voltage. If the charge current falls to zero, then a partially charged battery goes into supplement mode. It means that the battery controller IC helps in providing power to the system once the voltage drops below VBSUP1.