According to the company, the 12-channel, high-voltage smart sensor data-acquisition device can help automotive OEMs enhance the safety of their lithium-ion battery packs with robust communications, comprehensive diagnostics, and lower system costs.

Electric vehicles (EVs), hybrid EVs, and plug-in hybrids rely on large lithium-ion battery packs filled with hundreds of battery cells. Industry experts predict that 25% of cars sold by 2025 will have electric engines, and that automotive OEMs and tier 1s will need an intelligent battery management system to enable safe, low cost operation with robust communications.

The MAX17843 battery management system 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) uses capacitive isolation, reduces bill of materials costs and failure in time rates. The company explains that this can help designers save up to 90% of their isolation bill of materials cost. The UART enables robust communications in noisy environments. The company’s proprietary daisy-chain architecture and successive-approximation-register (SAR) ADC, enables the MAX17843 to capture fast, accurate voltage measurements and delivers high EMC performance. It is applicable for a variety of automotive and EV powertrain applications.

The device operates over the -40 to 125° C range and is available in a 64-pin LQFP package (10 x 10mm).