Surrey, England: The single-chip ISL9208 and ISL9216/17 chipset solution is an integrated analogue front end for cell balancing and overcurrent protection in multi-cell Li-ion battery packs. The solution, developed by Intersil, can replace up to 17 FETs, 12 diodes, 53 resistors and 31 capacitors in some designs. It also can simplify designs for multi-cell batterypowered packs in applications ranging from power tools to hybrid automotive vehicles.
By performing cell balancing, the chip solution allows the microcontroller to keep cell capacities matched to increase the battery pack’s operating time and extend battery life. A built-in 3.3V voltage regulator reduces component count while providing power to the microcontroller.