Linear offers active cell balancer with telemetry interface

The LT8584 offers high efficiency active balancing by redistributes the charge from the stronger cells (higher voltage) to charge the weaker cells during discharge. This enables the weaker cells to continue to supply the load, extracting 96% of the entire stack capacity, where passive balancing usually extracts approximately 80%. The LT8584 includes an integrated 6A/50V power switch, enabling an average discharge current of 2.5A. Its isolated balancing design can return charge to the top of the battery stack or to any combination of cells in the stack. The converter is designed to run off of the cell that it is discharging, removing the need for complicated biasing schemes. It integrates via the enable pin with the LTC680x family of battery stack voltage monitoring ics without any additional software. The LT8584, which draws less than 20nA of quiescent current from the battery, also provides system telemetry, including current, resistance and temperature monitoring when used with the LTC680x family of parts.