The LTC 1960 from Analog Devices is an Integrated Dual Battery Charger and Selector that is ideal for portable computers and portable instrument applications. It requires an input voltage of 6 - 28 V. The BMIC consists of a battery charger controller, charge MUX controller, PowerPath controller, SPI interface, 10-bit current DAC (IDAC), 11-bit voltage DAC (VDAC), PWM logic, voltage regulators, and protection circuits. It has been designed for portable products using dual smart batteries and can be coupled with a low-cost microprocessor to form a complete battery charger/selector system for two batteries. This IC includes a proprietary PowerPath architecture that supports simultaneous charging and discharging of both the batteries and uses a serial SPI interface to control and monitor the status of the batteries using an external microcontroller. It automatically switches between power sources in less than 10 µs to prevent power interruption upon battery or wall adapter.
This BMIC integrates a synchronous buck battery charger that delivers an efficiency of 95% with a drop-out voltage of 0.5 V while preventing audible noise under all operating modes. It has an optimized package design that allows the implementation of a complete SBS-compliant dual battery system while consuming minimum PCB area. The dual battery charger/selector uses a circuit breaker to prevent over-current-related damages. It is available in a surface-mount package that measures 5 x 7 mm.
