September 20, 2012—Maxim Integrated Products (NASDAQ: MXIM) announced the MAX17823, a fourth-generation high-voltage battery sensor for demanding automotive and industrial lithium-ion battery and fuel cell applications. Comprehensively integrating proprietary ISO-26262 diagnostic capabilities, the MAX17823 maximizes driving range for electric and hybrid vehicles and improves the safety and reliability of batteries and fuel cells.

Its proprietary differential UART communication link provides robustness against automotive EMC, enabling uninterrupted battery monitoring when the battery pack service switch is disconnected, eliminating the need for expensive digital isolators. The innovative shutdown function safely switches all daisy-chained devices to sub-microampere sleep mode when 12V power is not supplied to the host microcontroller. Furthermore, its unprecedentedly accurate performance of 100 measurements per second on 96 cells enables the achievement and maintenance of ASIL-D (Automotive Safety Integrity Level “D”) according to ISO-26262 standards. Additionally, it offers 96-cell hot-plug durability, ensuring maximum reliability during the manufacturing of battery management systems (BMS).

Key Features of the Product:
• ASIL-D met
• Outstanding Accuracy: Cell voltage measurement accuracy exceeding 2mV
• Enhanced System Safety: Prevents premature system shutdowns by integrating comprehensive smart diagnostic functions
• EMC Compliant: Robust daisy-chained UART interface supports cable lengths up to 3m and has passed rigorous industrial EMC testing standards.
• Improved reliability during manufacturing: Enhanced safety during pack assembly due to superior durability against 96-cell hot-plugging and reverse cell insertion.
• Industry's fastest cell measurement and diagnosis speed: 100 times per second

Industry evaluation
"The MAX17823 is the result of our extensive R&D collaboration with our major automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers. The advanced performance and benefits of the MAX17823 are being demonstrated in the rigorous EV and HEV verification tests of major automakers," said Naveed Majid, Managing Director of Maxim Integrated.

Supply and Price
• 64-pin LQFP package (10mm x 10mm)
• Operates over a temperature range of -40°C to +105°C

Maxim also offers the MAX17830, a second-generation high-voltage battery management solution.