The quad family of Supercapacitor Auto Balancing (SAB) MOSFETS offers a simple, economical and effective method to balance and regulate supercapacitors rated at a higher voltage. The chip is built using ALD EPAD proven production technology. The ALD810030 stabilizes supercapacitors that can be used in a wide variety of applications such as actuators, telematics, solar panels, emergency lighting, security equipment, barcode scanners, advanced metering boxes and battery backup systems.

The MOSFETs can balance two to four supercaps with small voltage differences and dissipate no power beyond the actual leakage current differences between the two cells. When V_IN = 3.00 V is applied to the array, its I_OUT is 1 µA. For a 100 mV increase in V_IN to 3.10 V, I_OUT increases by about tenfold. For an additional increase in V_IN to 3.24 V, I_OUT increases one hundredfold to 100 µA. Conversely, for a 100-mV decrease in V_IN to 2.90 V, I_OUT decreases to one-tenth of its previous value, to 0.1 µA. Another 100-mV decrease in input voltage would reduce I_OUT to 0.01 µA.

“Once again, ALD’s technology leadership has created a product that is always on for balancing larger supercapacitors that uses virtually no power,” said Robert Chao, president and founder of ALD. “The ability to offer power management for cells 3.00V or more is a market breakthrough.”

The ALD810030 offers a set of unique, precise operating voltage and current characteristics for each of the four matched SAB MOSFET channels. The product, available in quad packages, is scalable and can be used to balance up to four supercapacitors connected in parallel or series. It features a precision gate threshold voltage in the V_t mode, which is 3.00 V when the gate-drain source terminals (V_GS = V_DS) are connected at a drain-source current of I_DS(ON) = 1 µA. Additionally, the operating temperature is -40 to +85°C.

Advanced Linear Devices Inc., 415 Tasman Dr., Sunnyvale, CA 94089, (408) 747-1155, www.aldinc.com/