03 Aug 2012

Linear Technology unveils 60V battery charging controller and power manager

Linear Technology has introduced LTC4000-1, a high voltage controller and power manager with input maximum power point control (MPPC) that is said to convert virtually any externally compensated DC/DC power supply into a full-featured battery charger.

The LTC4000-1 is capable of driving typical DC/DC converter topologies, including buck, boost, buck-boost, SEPIC, flyback and forward.

The device offers precision input current monitoring and charge current monitoring and regulation. It operates across a wide 3V to 60V input and output voltage range, compatible with a variety of different input voltage sources, battery stacks and chemistries.

The LTC4000-1’s MPPC circuit features an input voltage regulation loop that controls charge current to maintain the input voltage at a programmed level, ideal for solar panels or other high impedance sources.

Applications include: high power battery charger systems, high performance portable instruments, battery backup systems, and industrial or military battery-equipped devices.

The LTC4000-1 features an intelligent "PowerPath" topology that preferentially provides power to the system load when input power is limited.

The LTC4000-1 controls external PFETs to provide low loss reverse current protection, efficient charging and discharging of the battery, and instant-on operation to ensure that system power is available at plug-in, even with a deeply discharged battery.

External sense resistors and precision sensing ensure accurate currents at high efficiency, allowing operation with converters that span the power range from milliwatts to kilowatts.

The LTC4000-1’s full-featured controller charges a variety of battery chemistries, including lithium-ion/polymer/phosphate, sealed lead acid (SLA), and nickel-based. The device provides charge status indicators through its FLT and CHRG pins.

Other features of the battery charger include: ±0.2% programmable float voltage, selectable timer or C/X current termination, temperature-qualified charging using an NTC thermistor, automatic recharge, C/10 trickle charge for deeply discharged cells and bad battery detection.

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