STMicroelectronics (ST), a global semiconductor company supporting various electronic applications and customers, contributes to improving the performance and lifespan of lithium-ion batteries through high-precision BMS controllers.

ST announced on the 3rd that it has launched the L9961 Battery Management System (BMS), which offers industry-leading accuracy and flexibility.

Suitable for battery packs up to 25V, the L9961 provides battery monitoring, balancing, and protection functions for various applications requiring high-energy-density lithium batteries.

The advanced features of the L9961 can be utilized in applications such as cordless power tools, backup energy storage systems, uninterruptible power supplies, portable and semi-portable equipment, and medical devices.

The L9961 has a built-in dual pre-driver that controls programmable battery pack safety relays for high-side and low-side connections, and has many other features.

With built-in non-volatile memory supporting configuration data, the microcontroller does not need to reprogram the device every time it starts. The I2C interface handles configuration and host communication to share the battery's State-of-Charge (SOC) and State-of-Health (SOH).

Cell voltage is detected with an accuracy of ±15mV and within 0.25% of the battery current through a high-resolution ADC (Analog-to-Digital Converter) and a current sensing amplifier.

With such accurate measurements, high-precision passive cell balancing and Coulomb counting are possible, and safety functions such as overvoltage and undervoltage detection, balancing undervoltage protection, overcurrent detection, and short-circuit discharge protection are supported.

When an external thermistor is connected to the L9961, the temperature of the pack is monitored through overheat/low temperature detection and pack-fuse management.

In addition, the L9961 is very robust enough to support hot plugging.

The L9961 minimizes energy consumption from the battery pack while extending battery life and increasing safety. With two power-saving modes, current consumption is reduced to 2μA in deep-sleep mode and 5μA in standby mode, and operation resumes quickly with an integrated voltage regulator.

The L9961 is currently in production and is available in a 32-lead 5mm x 5mm x 1mm VFQFPN package. The price is $1.19 for a purchase of 1,000.