TI Introduces the bq2063 Gas-Gauge IC for Lithium-Battery Packs
Texas Instruments (TI, Dallas, TX) introduced the bq2063, a new Smart Battery System-compliant gas-gauge IC for lithium-ion or lithium-polymer battery packs. Designed for battery-pack integration, the device monitors and reports critical battery parameters, controls the battery's charging profile, and provides battery alarm warnings and safety-control signals.
The bq2063 reports data such as remaining capacity, instantaneous charge or discharge current, temperature, and voltage. The device is suitable for use in notebook computers, hand-held terminals, medical and test equipment, and other portable equipment powered by three or four series of lithium-ion or lithium-polymer battery packs. It employs a voltage-to-frequency converter for continuous charge and discharge integration. The converter has a measurement offset error of less than 16uV. Additionally, the bq2063 features programmable cell modeling. The device consumes less than 180uA of current in operating mode and less than 5uA in sleep mode.
Other features of the bq2063 include a four- or five-segment LED display, packet error checking on the SMBus, an optional internal thermistor for temperature measurement, and a separate safety output.
Samples of the bq2063 will be available from TI in August 2001 with full production scheduled for September 2001. The bq2063 is packaged in a 28-pin SSOP. The suggested resale price is $3.85 in quantities of 1,000.
