IC Protects Lithium Ion Cells While Minimizing Current Drain

Referred to as the NCP800, this protection IC offers internally trimmed precision charge and discharge voltage limits, providing safety by accurately protecting the battery from over-voltage and over-current conditions. The device offers designers an alternative option when designing battery packs for handheld products such as digital cameras, video recorders and PDAs. In order to maintain cell operation within specified limits, the IC senses cell voltage and discharge current, and correspondingly controls the state of two N-channel MOSFET switches. These switches reside in series with the negative terminal of the cell and the negative terminal of the battery pack. The device is offered in the popular TSOP-6 with samples and production quantities currently available. Pricing is $0.41 each/12,000.