On June 3, 2013, TI Korea (Distribution Director Kent Chon) announced MaxLife (power management applying fast charging algorithms) and wireless charging technology as solutions to reduce battery degradation, presented by Steve Lambouse, who oversees the Battery Management Solution Analog Business Unit at the company headquarters, at the R&D Center in Yangjae.

On this occasion, Steve cited four key trends in current battery management:

-Faster, Cooler Charging
-More Accurate Capacity measurement
-Newer, Higher Capacity batteries
-Smaller form factors
-Wireless power

Among the various trends, the core focus of this presentation was MaxLife, a solution addressing how to reduce degradation that occurs during charging.

Battery life remains a persistent challenge for batteries, and it is one of the issues facing all current portable devices. Steve emphasized that degradation represents the largest factor reducing battery lifespan.

A system that enables rapid charging delivers high power in a short timeframe, and with such high power input in a short duration, corresponding degradation inevitably occurs. Moreover, most existing portable devices (notebooks, mobile phones, etc.) employ rechargeable batteries, and the problem is particularly severe in mobile devices that consume significant power and experience frequent on-off cycles.

MaxLife addresses this issue by reducing the degradation that occurs during rapid charging, reportedly extending battery life by approximately 30% compared to current solutions.

This is achieved through the Fuel Gauge storing battery specifications and component data, so that when degradation occurs during charging, systematic control mitigates the degradation. Even in the mobile sector alone, batteries used in various portable devices have slightly different chemical compositions depending on the manufacturer. These chemical characteristics are profiled in advance in the charger IC to accurately monitor battery status and minimize potential battery damage during fast charging. Additionally, state changes in the battery over its service life are monitored as well. These results are communicated to the Battery Charger IC, which receives recommendations for the method that best minimizes battery damage during charging, thereby extending battery lifespan.


Wireless Charging
Currently, TI is a member of WPC, PMA, and A4WP, the international wireless charging organizations, and contributes to establishing wireless charging standards. TI has distributed Qi-Compliant System WPC1.0 and WPC1.1 in cooperation with these organizations.

To facilitate the adoption of TI's wireless charging solution technology, TI provides reference designs, technical support, and hardware design training courses conducted at the U.S. headquarters for requesting engineers.

Certification: Since wireless charging must comply with international standards, TI also provides certification support for required products. Contact: ...

To date, the mobile sector is the primary field utilizing TI's solutions, with approximately 30 types of mobile devices adopted and in use in connection with U.S. Verizon and others.

TI's wireless charging solution chipset allocates significant R&D resources to support continuous evolution. The differences between current specifications and the following specifications not yet released can be easily understood through comparison.

What's Next sectors