EDN's 18th Annual Innovation Awards Finalists

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Category: Power ICs
Finalist: ISL9208 multicell-battery-pack IC (Intersil Corp)

Batteries comprising multiple cells are far harder to manage that a single cell. Yet laptop computers require large strings of cells in batteries to deliver the power the system needs. Any designer developing applications ranging from power tools to hybrid automotive vehicles can benefit from the ISL9208 battery-pack IC. Many handheld devices and portable test equipment need higher voltage rails than a single cell can provide. The single-chip ISL9208 battery pack IC is the industry’s first integrated analog front end for cell balancing and overcurrent protection in multicell lithium-ion battery packs. This device can replace as many as 17 FETs, 12 diodes, 53 resistors, and 31 capacitors in some designs. The part increases battery system efficiency by performing cell balancing and monitoring battery packs to protect against high-current conditions. As a single chip, the device can balance five to seven 28 to 50V cells, and Intersil also produces the two-chip ISL9216 and ISL9217 for eight- to 12-cell battery packs.