Maxim’s Battery Fuel-Gauge ICs Promise Lowest Operating Current That Maximizes Run-Time for Portable Devices like Mobiles

The MAX17262 single-cell and MAX17263 single or multi-cell fuel gauge ICs from Maxim Integrated Products Inc. is now helping lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery designers offer better experience to buyers of portable devices like mobile phones, IoT (Internet of Things) products, power tools, electric bicycles, and wearable devices. The MAX17262 comes embedded with 5.2μA quiescent current, it is the lowest level in its class with integrated current sensing. Another one the MAX17263 comes only with 8.2μA quiescent current and is capable of driving 3-12 LEDs to indicate system or battery status which is very useful for rugged applications without a display.

Fig. 1: MAX17262 and MAX17263 by Maxim Integrated Inc.

(Image Source: Maxim Integrated)

Electronics products that are energized by small sized Li-ion batteries strive for extending run-times of devices to cater user requirements and expectations. There are a number of elements like temperature, aging, and cycling that can easily degrade performance of Li-ion battery with course of time. False SOC data from unreliable fuel gauge compels the designers to either enhance the battery size or compromise the running-time by shutting down the system prematurely even if it has any usable energy left. Such faults can lead to very poor user experience because of abrupt shutdown. It will also increase the charging frequency of device. Designers also struggle to get the product to markets as soon as possible because of high competition. Maxim’s advanced fuel-gauge ICs assist designers meet user expectations and time-to-market challenges.

The MAX17263 and MAX17262 bring together traditional coulomb counting along with the new ModelGauge™ m5 EZ algorithm for highly accurate battery SOC without any battery characterization. Raghu Raj Singh, the leading semiconductor equipment analyst for Technavio, adds, “In a push to make their products more user friendly, consumer IoT device manufacturers look for solutions that are highly integrated to reduce design size. Anything that extends the operating time of the device by minimizing battery drain will been viewed as a boon for these developers. Maxim’s fuel-gauge ICs are ideally suited to address both needs.”