
AAT3680
Lithium-Ion Linear Battery Charge Controller
12
3680.2003.4.0.91
Choosing a Sense Resistor
The charging rate recommended by Lithium Ion
cell vendors is normally 1C, with a 2C absolute
maximum rating. Charging at the highest recom-
mended rate offers the advantage of shortened
charging time without decreasing the battery's lifes-
pan. This means that the suggested fast charge
rate for a 500mAH battery pack is 500mA. The cur-
rent sense resistor, R
SENSE
, programs the charge
current according to the following equation:
R
SENSE
=
(V
P
-V
CSI
)
I
CHARGE(REG)
Where I
CHARGE(REG)
is the desired typical charge cur-
rent during constant-current charge mode. V
P
-V
CSI
is the voltage across R
SENSE
, shown in the Electrical
Characteristic table as V
CS
. To program a nominal
500mA charge current during fast-charge, a 200m
value resistor should be selected. Calculate the
worst case power dissipated in the sense resistor
according to the following equation:
P = (V
CS
)
2
R
SENSE
P = (0.1)
2
0.2
P = 50mW
A 500mW LRC type sense resistor from IRC is
adequate for this purpose. Higher value sense
resistors can be used, decreasing the power dissi-
pated in the sense resistor and pass transistor.
The drawback of higher value sense resistors is
that the charge cycle time is increased, so tradeoffs
should be considered when optimizing the design.
Thermistor
The AAT3680 checks battery temperature before
starting the charge cycle as well as during all
stages of charging. This is accomplished by mon-
itoring the voltage at the TS pin. Either a negative-
temperature coefficient thermistor (NTC) or posi-
tive-temperature coefficient thermistor (PTC) can
be used because the AAT3680 checks to see that
the voltage at TS is within a voltage window bound-
ed by V
TS1
and V
TS2
. Please see equations below
for specifying resistors:
R
T1
and R
T2
for use with
NTC
Thermistor
R
T1
=
5 · R
TH
· R
TC
3 · (R
TC
- R
TH
)
5 · R
TH
· R
TC
(2 · R
TC
) - (7 · R
TH
)
R
T2
=
R
T1
and R
T2
for use with
PTC
Thermistor
R
T1
=
5 · R
TH
· R
TC
3 · (R
TC
- R
TH
)
5 · R
TH
· R
TC
(2 · R
TH
) - (7 · R
TC
)
R
T2
=
Where R
TC
is the thermistor's cold temperature
resistance, and R
TH
is the thermistor's hot temper-
ature resistance. See thermistor specifications for
info. To ensure there is no dependence on the
input supply changes, connect divider between V
P
and V
SS
. Disabling the temperature-monitoring
function is achieved by applying a voltage between
V
TS1
and V
TS2
on the TS pin.
Capacitor Selection
Input Capacitor
In general, it is good design practice to place a
decoupling capacitor between V
P
and V
SS
pins. An
input capacitor in the range of 0.1μF to 4.7μF is rec-
ommended. If the source supply is unregulated, it
may be necessary to increase the capacitance to
keep the input voltage above the undervoltage lock-
out threshold.
If the AAT3680 is to be used in a system with an
external power supply source, such as a typical AC to
DC wall adaptor, then a C
IN
capacitor in the range of
10μF should be used. A larger input capacitor in this
application will minimize switching or power bounce
effects when the power supply is "hot plugged" in.