MAXREFDES179#: 45W USB Type-C PD fast charger

The MAXREFDES179 reference design board is a standalone 45W USB type-C PD fast-charger, fuel-gauge, and protection solution for 2S Li+ batteries. It also provides 8A output at a voltage of 1S very efficiently to power systems with power management integrated circuits (PMICs) designed for 1S voltages.

The MAXREFDES179 allows the easy evaluation of the USB-C PD controller, buck-boost charger, fuel gauge with integrated protection, and 2S-to-1S switched-capacitor converter.

The MAX77958 is a complete solution to detect the USB type-C CC and implement the PD protocol. The MAX77960 is a 45W wide-input buck-boost charger with integrated field-effect transistors (FETs) for 2S Li+ batteries. The MAX77932 is a dual-phase switched-capacitor converter with integrated power switches that delivers 8A output current and divides the input voltage by two. The MAX77932 also simplifies the migration by converting the 2S battery voltage to 1S-equivalent output and preserves the existing downstream 1S power architecture. The MAX17320 is a fuel-gauge IC with a protector and SHA-256 authentication for two to four series lithium-ion/polymer batteries. The fuel gauge uses the ModelGauge m5 algorithm that automatically compensates for cell aging, temperature, and discharge rate, and provides accurate state-of-charge (SOC) in milliampere-hours (mAh) or percentage (%) over a wide range of operating conditions to protect the battery.

The graphical user interface (GUI) is Windows-based. A register-based interface exercises the features of the MAX77932, MAX77958, MAX77960, and MAX17320.

The design files, firmware, and software are available in the Design Resources tab. The board is also available for purchase..