Date: 14/07/2009

1Amp single cell Lithium-Ion battery charger IC of size 2x2 mm

Semtech's new SC824, a linear, triple mode, single-cell lithium-ion battery charger is capable of supplying 1Amp current and comes in a ten-lead 2x2mm MLPD package. SC824 feature 30V input voltage protection with 9.6V maximum input over-voltage protection (OVP) threshold to protect portable systems against hot plug overshoots and faulty charging adapters. Under-voltage lock out (UVLO) is lowered to 2.85Volts in the SC824 so it will work well with voltage or current-limited adapters. When charging from USB, a proprietary under-voltage limiting feature reduces the charge current as needed to prevent VBUS collapsing below 4.5Volts in case of a weak host or hub.

SC824 packs NTC thermistor interface, multi-stage timer, and an extra indicator flag. The NTC interface disables charging whenever battery temperature over-shoots and falls below set levels and also enable or disable LDO mode when the battery is disconnected. The optional programmable multi-stage charge timer protects against a faulty battery, or terminates charging on timeout if the system load is too high to terminate charging on current. Two flags indicate valid input voltage, charger status and faults.

"Not only does our new charging platform exceed the performance one would expect from a tiny state-of-the-art battery charger," said Karl Volk, Semtech's marketing director for Handheld Power, "but it also integrates a host of advanced features that are rare, even among much larger competing devices thereby increasing value to our customers."

The SC824 incorporates the preferred and safest lithium-ion charging algorithm with multiple regulation loops of constant current (CC), constant voltage (CV), and constant die junction temperature (CTj). A tri-level logic input selects from three modes of charging: adapter mode, USB low power mode and USB high power mode. Additional charging functions include reverse current blocking, pre-qualification of a low-voltage battery, soft-start to reduce the burden on wall adapters with poor transient response, optional float charging or top-off charging with termination, auto- or forced-recharging and open/short-circuit protection.

Other features of SC824 are,
Single input for adapter, USB high and USB low modes
Voltage output: 4.2V +/-1%
Die temperature regulation

Package: 2x2mm lead-free MLPD package
RoHS Compliant: Yes
Availability: Now
Price: Each US$ 0.75 for 3K pieces