High-voltage batteries with industry’s first 100-V high-side FET driver

By Editorial Team On Feb 11, 2016

Texas Instruments (TI) introduced the first single-chip 100-V high-side FET driver for high-power lithium-ion battery applications, delivering advanced power protection and control. The bq76200 high-voltage solution efficiently drives high-side N-channel charge and discharge FETs in batteries commonly used in energy storage systems and motor-driven applications, including drones, power tools, e-bikes and more.

Compared to typical 50-V low-side FET driver solutions, the 100-V high-side FET driver provides greater protection against possible inductive transient events in motor-driven applications, which can cause battery voltages to jump as much as 200 percent above normal. The bq76200 also helps maintain constant battery monitoring and enhanced system diagnostics – even when charging and discharging is disabled.

Key features and benefits of the bq76200:
• Versatile supply voltage range: Compatible with a variety of battery architectures, capacities and voltage ranges from 8-V to 75-V, with an absolute maximum of 100-V.
• Advanced-protection FET control: The fast-switching feature minimizes fault response time and disables the discharge FET if a battery has been severely discharged.
• Quick development time and reduced overhead: The adaptable driver works with small to large power FET arrays by simply scaling the charge-pump capacitor, reducing engineering overhead and speeding development time.
• High integration and small package size: The bq76200 integrates a high-voltage charge pump and dual FET drivers into one 5-mm by 4.4-mm by 1-mm thin shrink small outline package (TSSOP).

The bq76200 can be used in conjunction with the bq76940 battery-monitoring family, allowing for the application to move to a high-side FET drive and ensure that communication is always possible. The bq76200 can also drive TI’s CSD19531Q5A 100-V NexFET™ power MOSFET as showcased in the bq76200 evaluation module.

Pricing and availability
The bq76200 is available now in the TI store and through the company’s authorized distribution network. The driver is packaged in a 16-pin TSSOP and is priced at US$1.69 in 1,000-unit quantities.