Intersil introduces 12-cell lithium-ion battery pack monitors

     Intersil Corporation, a leading provider of innovative power management and precision simulation solutions, announced the launch of the 12-cell lithium-ion battery pack monitor ISL78610. The device provides battery equalization and accurate voltage and temperature monitoring to protect lithium-ion battery packs in hybrid, plug-in hybrid and pure electric vehicles. System designers can use the ISL78610 as a standalone battery pack monitor or as a redundant backup when combined with the high-accuracy ISL78600 multi-cell battery manager. This powerful combination enables automakers to achieve the higher ISO 26262 Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL) Level D.

     The feature rich ISL78610 monitors and balances up to 12 lithium-ion batteries and can accurately read voltage values and diagnose results. This enables the system designer to make decisions based on the absolute voltage level, based on accurate information, rather than simply saying "the system is abnormal." The ISL78610 includes a reference voltage, 14-bit A/D converter, and registers for control and data, while directly connecting to the microcontroller via its 2 Mbps SPI interface. The device also offers four external temperature inputs and includes fault detection and diagnosis for all critical internal functions.

     Intersil's battery monitoring and management ics meet the demanding safety, reliability and high performance requirements of next-generation automotive battery pack systems. Combined, the ISL78610 and ISL78600 provide internal and external fault detection such as open wire, overvoltage and undervoltage, and temperature and battery balance failures to reduce battery pack failures. Multiple devices can be connected via Daisy chains to support lithium-ion battery systems with up to 168 cells using a proprietary communication system with industry-leading transient resistance and electromagnetic compatibility/electromagnetic interference (EMC/EMI) resistance that exceeds automotive manufacturers' requirements.

     Intersil's Daisy chain architecture uses low-cost capacitive isolation technology (using twisted pair) to stack multiple battery packs on top of each other, while the IC's internal protection protects against hot swapping and high-voltage transient events. If communication with the main microcontroller is interrupted, the watchdog timer automatically turns off the Daisy chain IC power supply.

     Philip Chesley, senior vice president of Precision Products at Intersil, said: "The ISL78610 battery pack monitor provides customers with the perfect combination of lithium-ion battery pack monitoring and control characteristics. "Combining the monitor with the ISL78600 battery pack manager also provides automotive manufacturers with the reliability, accuracy and redundancy required for battery management systems to meet the demanding ASIL-D standards."