Maxim Integrated Announces Industry's First Lithium-Ion Battery Fuel Gauge that Continuously Monitors Self-Discharge and Provides Protection

     Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. announced the MAX17320 high-precision battery fuel gauge and protection circuit, which effectively extends the runtime of multi-cell battery-powered products and monitors battery self-discharge to avoid potential problems. The MAX17320 is a battery-side fuel gauge and protection IC that supports 2- to 4-cell lithium-ion (Li+) cells (2S-4S) in series and is a new member of Maxim Integrated's patented ModelGauge m5 EZ algorithm family of ICs . Compared to competing products, the IC improves the accuracy of state-of-charge (SOC) readings by 40% and is suitable for the vast majority of Li+ battery-powered products without the need for battery characterization. The fuel gauge also features the industry's lowest quiescent current (IQ), which is 80% lower than the nearest competitor, and SHA-256 security certification, which guarantees the system is safe from counterfeit batteries.

     In applications such as computing, Internet of Things (IoT), power tools, consumer, healthcare, and mobile devices, user safety is a top designer consideration for handheld devices powered by 2- to 4-cell Li+ batteries. Defective or damaged batteries may experience internal battery leakage, and as the situation deteriorates, serious accidents such as fire and explosion may occur. It directly endangers the safety of consumers and, of course, the brand effectiveness of manufacturers. Strict factory screening can effectively prevent leaked batteries from flowing from factories to society. But as of now, there is no solution to detect the self-discharge of a battery during normal use. The MAX17320 fills this gap, providing a timely alert to the system to shut down a leaking battery before it becomes a hazard. In addition to this, the IC has state-of-the-art battery protection features that fine-tune the voltage and current thresholds for different temperature regions. The IC also provides secondary protection, permanently disconnecting the battery by assisting a secondary protector or blowing a fuse under severe fault conditions.

     As with all mobile devices, one of the goals of manufacturers is to develop products with longer battery life. Battery-powered devices require more accurate SOC information to accurately estimate remaining runtime. As part of a family of ICs featuring the ModelGauge m5 algorithm, the MAX17320 provides the industry's highest-precision SOC, allowing designers to achieve the longest system uptime and avoid premature or abrupt system shutdowns. The MAX17320 operates in an ultra-low-power mode, allowing the system to instantly read SOC information upon wake-up; no need to disconnect the battery during shipping or storage. The MAX17320 has the industry's lowest IQ, 85% lower than the leading competitor, and supports long product shelf-life.