Lithium ion battery charger implementation using C8051F300 app note(PDF!) from Silicon Labs.
Driven by the need for untethered mobility and ease of use, many systems rely on rechargable batteries as their primary power source. The battery charging circuitry for these systems is typically implemented using a fixed-function IC to control the charging current/voltage profile.
The C8051F30x family provides a flexible alternative to fixed-function battery chargers. This application note discusses how to use the C8051F30x family in Li-Ion battery charger applications. The Li-Ion charging algorithms can be easily adapted to other battery chemistries, but an understanding of other battery chemistries is required to ensure proper charging for those chemistries.
When Li-xxx cells are stacked in series, they need cell voltage equalization. Without equalizing cell voltage, it is possible for a cell to reverse polarity with rather interesting results. Have cells become so good that this is not a problem?