Diodes Inc.'s programmable battery charger keeps portable products safe

DALLAS, USA: Diodes Inc. has introduced the APM860x lithium battery charger ICs. Provided in the U-DFN3030 14-pin package, the APM8600 and APM8601 provide a range of safety features designed to protect small form factor portable products during the charging process.

To ensure safe charging of products including mobile phones, media players and headsets, the single channel APM8600 and dual channel APM8601 continuously monitor lithium ion and lithium polymer cells for overvoltage, charge time and temperature. Providing up to 28V overvoltage protection, the APM8601 automatically selects between USB or DC inputs, and the APM8600 is a DC input only device.

The ICs’ charging algorithm covers all lithium cell charging phases, comprising pre-charging for deeply depleted cells, constant current / constant voltage fast charging and top-off charging to hold the cell at its full charge level. Maximum fast charging current is 1A, with charge current from the USB input set to either 100mA or 500mA depending on the logic level applied to the USEL input.

Fully programmable via external component selection, the APM860x’s charging current, pre-charging and end-of-charge are determined by resistor value and the charge time by capacitor value. Cell temperature measurement is achieved via a standard thermistor located in close proximity to the cell. Charge indicator pins are provided for charging status display.