Summit Microelectronics SMB346/SMB347 charger ICs

Summit Microelectronics has expanded its fourth-generation family of programmable Li-Ion battery charger integrated circuits with the SMB346 and SMB347 that deliver up to 2.5 A charge/system current with dual input/dual output CurrentPath for operation with a dead or missing battery.

Dual inputs accept both USB and AC/DC with automatic selection and support for all battery charging standards: USB 2.0 specification, USB on-the-go supplement, USB battery charging specification 1.2, IEEE1725 standard, Chinese USB charging specification and others.

The devices are said to be the only battery charger ICs with CurrentPath to detect the input source type and automatically optimise operation for the fastest and safest charging.

The ICs are based on a 3 MHz, switch-mode DC-DC architecture with minimal external components, which allows for over 90% efficient conversion and compact solution size. The devices enable fast charging due to higher charge currents while reduced thermal dissipation improves user comfort, system reliability and green operation.

TurboCharge enables high charge current, even from relatively low-power sources, for example, up to 750 mA output from 500 mA USB source.

The devices are suitable for a wide range of portable devices, particularly those that use high capacity batteries, require short charging times and feature compact industrial designs.