USB-C buck-boost battery charger family for USB on-the-go charging

Intersil has introduced two new USB-C buck-boost battery chargers that support bidirectional power delivery in ultrabooks, tablets, power banks and other mobile products. The single-chip ISL9238 and ISL9238A battery chargers replace competitive two-chip solutions to reduce customer bill of materials (BOM) costs by up to 40%. Both ICs employ Intersil’s patented R3 modulation technology to extend battery life and deliver acoustic noise-free operation, superior light-load efficiency and ultra-fast transient response. They both operate in forward buck, boost or buck-boost mode to fast charge mobile battery packs with up to four-cell Li-ion batteries. They also support USB 3.1 On-The-Go (OTG) with 5V/20V reverse buck, boost or buck-boost mode to deliver power out of a USB-C port for charging external devices such as smartphones, headphones or virtual reality goggles. At maximum power, both ICs provide 20V at 5A to the USB-C port for delivery of power up to 100W over a reversible USB Type-C connector cable. The ISL9238A also includes a different SMBus address for OEMs that want to use both ICs to design systems with dual USB-C ports. In charging mode, the devices take input power from a wide range of DC power sources, including AC/DC charger adapters, USB power delivery ports and any travel adapter. Both chargers include SMBus and I2C programmable features such as depleted battery trickle charging, and a two-level adapter current limit for turbo-mode events where the charger takes advantage of the adapter’s milliseconds of surge current capability to minimise power draw and extend battery run-time. They also feature programmable autonomous charging and an end of charge safety timer to stop battery charging. “The new ISL9238/A USB-C buck-boost battery chargers give our customers more features, including 5V/20V reverse buck, boost and buck-boost modes, and the ability to add dual ports for two USB-C battery chargers in one system,” said Andrew Cowell, senior vice president of Mobile Power Products at Intersil. “Mobile computing OEMs rely on Intersil to consistently deliver power management innovations that help them differentiate their products with thinner form factors and exceptionally long battery life.”