Weekly PULSE Issue
Kaivan Karimi – Dir. of Global Strategy, Microcontroller Group, at Freescale
Electronics Quiz of the Day
Lithium battery charging
Question:
How is a Lithium chemistry battery charged?
Answer:
Figure 1 Lithium battery charging plot
Lithium ion and Lithium polymer batteries have become an amazing power source for many types of industrial and consumer products. Charging them is fortunately a relatively simple process often referred to as CC/CV. Constant Current/Constant Voltage charging charges batteries at a set current until the battery voltage reaches a predetermined voltage that is held while the current is reduced until the charge is complete.
For most lithium chemistry batteries the charge current can be set as high as the capacity, C of the battery. For example a 1Ahr capacity battery could be charged at 1A. When the cells reach a voltage of 4.2V, the current is reduced to hold the cells at 4.2V until the current has dropped to approximately 10% of the starting current.
With charging all batteries, it is important to know the battery type, voltage, capacity, and any other limitations/considerations of that particular battery before attempting a charge.
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