ISL9238: Buck-Boost Narrow VDC Battery Charger with SMBus Interface and USB OTG

The ISL9238 and ISL9238A are buck-boost Narrow Output Voltage DC (NVDC) chargers. The ISL9238 and ISL9238A provide the NVDC charging function, system bus regulation and protection features for tablet, ultrabook, notebook, power bank and any USB-C interface platform. Intersil’s advanced R3™ Technology is used to provide high light-load efficiency and fast transient response.

In Charging mode the ISL9238 and ISL9238A takes input power from a wide range of DC power sources (conventional AC/DC charger adapters, USB PD ports, travel adapters, etc.) and safely charges battery packs with up to 4-series cell Li-ion batteries.

As a NVDC topology charger, it also regulates the system output to a narrow DC range for stable system bus voltage. The system power can be provided from the adapter, battery or a combination of both. The ISL9238 and ISL9238A can operate with only a battery, only an adapter or both connected. For Intel IMVP8 compliant systems the ISL9238 and ISL9238A includes PSYS (System power monitor) functionality, which provides an analog signal representing total platform power. The PSYS output will connect to a wide range of Intersil IMVP8 core regulators to provide an IMVP8 compliant power domain function.

The ISL9238 and ISL9238A support reverse buck, boost, or buck-boost operation to input port from 2- to 4-cell batteries.

The ISL9238 and ISL9238A have serial communication via SMBus/I2C that allows programming of many critical parameters to deliver a customized solution.

The ISL9238A is exactly same as ISL9238, but it has different SMBus addresses for customers who use two battery chargers in one system.

Key Differences in Family
FeatureBattery CellOn-The-Go (OTG)Pin-to-pin CompatibleAdditional FeaturesVDD OC ThresholdI2C Read AddressI2C Write Address
ISL92371~3-Cell5VYesN/A70mA0b00010011 (0x13H)0b00010010 (0x12H)
ISL92381~4-Cell5~20VYesAuto Charge & End of Charge, diff I2C slave115mA0b00010011 (0x13H)0b00010010 (0x12H)
ISL9238A1~4-Cell5~20VYesAuto Charge & End of Charge, diff I2C slave115mA0b00011011 (0x1BH)0b00011010 (0x1AH)
Key Features
  • Buck-boost NVDC charger for 1-, 2-, 3-, or 4-cell Li-ion batteries
  • Input voltage range 3.2V to 23.4V (no dead zone)
  • System output voltage 2.4V to 18.304V
  • Autonomous charging option (automatic end of charging)
  • System power monitor PSYS output, IMVP compliant
  • Up to 1MHz switching frequency
  • Adapter current and battery current monitor (AMON/BMON)
  • PROCHOT# open-drain output, IMVP compliant
  • Allows trickle charging of depleted battery
  • Ideal diode control in Turbo mode
  • Reverse buck, boost and buck-boost operation from battery
  • Two-level adapter current limit available
  • Battery Ship mode option
  • SMBus and auto-increment I2C compatible
  • Package 4x4 32 Ld TQFN
Applications
  • 1 to 4-cell tablet, ultrabook, notebook, power bank, and any USB-C interface portable device requiring batteries
Typical Diagram
Datasheets
TitleTypeUpdatedSizeOther Languages
ISL9238, ISL9238A DatasheetPDF09 Nov 20161.38 MB
Design Files
TitleTypeUpdatedSizeOther Languages
ISL9238EVAL1Z Design FilesZIP07 Nov 20161.9 MB
Software
TitleTypeUpdatedSizeOther Languages
ISL9238EVAL1Z Evaluation Board SoftwareZIP07 Nov 2016104.58 MB
User Guides
TitleTypeUpdatedSizeOther Languages
ISL9238EVAL1Z User GuidePDF09 Nov 20161.06 MB
White Papers
TitleTypeUpdatedSizeOther Languages
Five Easy Steps to Create a Multi-Load Power SolutionPDF30 Jan 2017502 KB
Order Information
Part NumberPackage TypeWeight(g)PinsMSL RatingPeak Temp (°C)RoHS Status
ISL9238HRTZ32 Ld TQFNNA323260RoHS
ISL9238HRTZ-T32 Ld TQFN T+RNA323260RoHS
ISL9238HRTZ-T7A32 Ld TQFN T+RNA323260RoHS
ISL9238HRTZ-TK32 Ld TQFN T+RNA323260RoHS
ISL9238IRTZ32 Ld TQFNNA323260RoHS
ISL9238IRTZ-T32 Ld TQFN T+RNA323260RoHS
ISL9238EVAL1ZN/ARoHS
ISL9238, ISL9238A Datasheet 09 Nov 2016
ISL9238EVAL1Z Design Files 07 Nov 2016
ISL9238EVAL1Z Evaluation Board Software 07 Nov 2016
ISL9238EVAL1Z User Guide 09 Nov 2016
Five Easy Steps to Create a Multi-Load Power Solution 30 Jan 2017