Maxim's Single-Chip Battery-Management System Helps Achieve ASIL D Compliance
January 16, 2018
News
This advanced battery-management system, the MAX17843 from Maxim, enables a safer and smarter car.
A battery-management system (BMS) comes in many different flavors and often cover different aspects of that system. For example, it could encompass just the hardware or just the software. It could include an integrated analytics engine that maintains the proper levels. And so on. You get the idea.
Maxim has developed what it is calling a BMS, aimed at automotive lithium-ion battery packs, particularly the safety of those packs. It does this by embedding 12-channel, high-voltage smart sensor data-acquisition into the MAX17843 device. The company claims that it results in robust communications, comprehensive diagnostics, and lower system costs (see a video covering how the device works).
Electric vehicles (EVs), hybrid EVs, and plug-in hybrids rely on large lithium-ion battery packs filled with hundreds or even thousands of individual battery cells. With industry experts predicting that 25% of cars sold by 2025 will have electric engines, automotive OEMs and Tier 1s need an intelligent battery management system to enable safe, low cost solutions with robust communications.
The MAX17843 meets the highest safety standards, adhering to ISO 26262 and ASIL D requirements (also applicable for ASIL C). Its differential universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter (UART) using capacitive isolation reduces bill of materials (BOM) costs and failure in time (FIT) rates. With this, Maxim says that designers can save up to 90% of their isolation BOM cost. The flexible UART enables robust communications in noisy environments.
Using Maxim’s unique proprietary daisy-chain architecture and successive-approximation-register (SAR) analog-to-digital converter (ADC), the MAX17843 captures fast, accurate voltage measurements and delivers high EMC performance. It is applicable for a variety of automotive and EV powertrain applications.
The MAX17843 operates over the -40°C to +125°C range and is housed in a 10- by 10-mm, 64-pin LQFP package. Available now, it sells for $7.61in lots of 1000. An evaluation kit, MAX17843EVKIT evaluation kit is available for $1000.
Rich Nass is a regular contributor to Embedded Computing Design. He has appeared on more than 500 episodes of the popular Embedded Executive podcast series, and is a regular contributor to the Embedded Insiders podcast.
Rich has been in the engineering OEM industry for more than 35 years, and is a recognized expert in the areas of embedded computing, Edge AI, industrial computing, the IoT, and cyber-resiliency and safety and security issues. He writes and speaks regularly on these topics and more.
Rich is currently the Liaison to Industry for the Embedded World North America Exhibition and Conference, and has held similar positions with the global Embedded World Conference and Exhibition.
Previously, Rich was the Brand Director for UBM’s award-winning Design News property. Prior to that, he led the content team for UBM Canon’s Medical Devices Group, as well all custom properties and events. In prior stints, he led the Content Team at EE Times, handling the Embedded and Custom groups and the TechOnline DesignLine network of design engineering web sites.
Nass holds a BSEE degree from the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
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