NiMH charger IC

Maxim has introduced the DS2710, a standalone NiMH charger IC with alkaline-cell detection. Said to be the smallest charger IC to incorporate fast-charge control and alkaline-cell detection, it saves space and cost.

Eliminating the need for circuit design or microcontroller programming, this device is a single-chip charger that protects against system damage due to corrosive cell leakage.

The device makes it easy to add in-system NiMH charging to end equipment powered by AA or AAA batteries. Suitable for charging batteries from a USB port, the device is for MP3 players, voice recorders, handheld games, toys or any other application capable of using standard-size alkaline or NiMH batteries.

Charge-control output regulates charge current using a switchmode or linear control scheme, enabling application designers to choose between maximising charge rate and minimising solution cost and size.

The device offers charge control for fast-charging NiMH cells, including precharge conditioning, negative-delta-V fast-charge termination and top-off charging. Voltage, temperature and charge-timer monitoring during all charge phases provide redundant secondary charge-termination methods for additional protection against overcharge.