Battery-powered applications have become commonplace over the last decade, and such devices require a certain level of protection to ensure safe usage. The battery management system (BMS) monitors the battery and possible fault conditions, preventing the battery from situations in which it can degrade, fade in capacity, or even potentially harm the user or surrounding environment. It is also the r...

When designing a battery management system (BMS), designers can face challenges when obtaining an accurate estimate of the battery’s state-of-charge (SoC), which is the level of a charge a battery has in relation to its capacity. This article is the second of a two-part series discussing SoC estimations. Part I explored the complex application of battery conditions in SoC estimation, as well one ...

With the dramatic improvement in battery performance, applications are increasingly utilizing battery packs to provide energy. In the battery management system (BMS), designers face the challenge of accurately estimating the battery’s state-of-charge (SoC), which is the level of charge a battery has in relation to its capacity. SoC is commonly represented as a percentage between 0% and 100%. A ba...

For the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, all Olympic venues used green electricity to promote the goal for carbon neutrality. Green electricity mainly comes from solar photovoltaic and wind power generation. Utilizing more renewable photovoltaic energy is an effective approach to reach the greenhouse gas pollution target by 2030. Photovoltaic cells have many subdivisions of applications, including...

The demand for fast charging has driven the unprecedented evolution of high-density adapters. In practical adapter designs, there are countless implementations of new switching power devices, topologies, and control schemes. With the introduction of these cutting-edge technologies, the power density of adapter products has significantly increased. 1W/cm3 is becoming the common density for high-de...

Li-ion battery charger ICs are devices that regulate battery charging current and voltage, and are commonly used for portable devices, such as cellphones, laptops, and tablets. Compared to other battery chemistries, Li-ion batteries have one of the highest energy densities, provide a higher voltage per cell, can tolerate higher currents, and do not have to be trickle charged when the battery is fu...

The HR1211 is an integrated, multi-mode PFC and current mode LLC controller solution that was designed to meet the power requirements of the fast-charge adapter market. To achieve a simplified peripheral circuit, the HR1211 integrates a high-voltage current source, a safety-certified X-capacitor discharge circuit, and high-voltage drive circuits for PFC and LLC. In addition, a capacitor resistor i...

Due to the rapid development of mobile devices in the last decade, cell phone applications have expanded into every aspect of society. In day-to-day life, few people leave their cell phone, even for a few minutes. As a result, high battery capacity and fast charging speed has become one of the most critical features for cell phones, and the demand for adapters with higher power ratings and higher ...

The design requirements of today’s switching power supplies are driven by efficiency requirements not only at full load, but also under sleep mode or no-load conditions when the cable is disconnected. Power system integrators have to meet new regulations from agencies such as Energy Star, 80 Plus, and the European Commission’s CoC, regardless of the power supply’s load condition....

Before continuing to this article, make sure to read Live Digital Solutions for Efficient Power Supply Designs (Part I). MPS’s HR121x family of products are rich in digital and analog functions. These PFC + LLC combo controllers are highly integrated, and offer reduced power consumption that makes them well suited for standby power applications. They can work in either discontinuous conduct...

An operational amplifier (op amp) is an analog circuit block that takes a differential voltage input and produces a single-ended voltage output. Op amps usually have three terminals: two high-impedance inputs and a low-impedance output port. The inverting input is denoted with a minus (-) sign, and the non-inverting input uses a positive (+) sign. Operational amplifiers work to amplify the voltag...

With the continued rapid development of various electronic products, high-efficiency power supply design requirements are continually evolving. The high-efficiency conversion circuits defined in textbooks can no longer meet the actual needs of the market, because achieving high efficiency under rated operating conditions is just one of the requirements. A truly competitive power supply design must...