Samsung selects tiny battery gauge IC from ST for its smart-phones

STMicroelectronics has unveiled battery fuel-gauge IC STC3115 for battery operated mobile devices to measure energy left in the battery more accurately compared to previous technologies. ST says this devices is already been selected by Samsung for some of its recent smartphones. This device is suggested for portable electronics such as medical devices, where accurate battery level display is important. To enhance fuel-gauging accuracy, ST has combined several important advances in its latest adaptive fuel-gauge IC, the STC3115. Until now, leading devices have used Coulomb counting to monitor energy entering and leaving the battery, and periodic voltage-mode state-of-charge measurements to adjust the Coulomb counter for accuracy. The STC3115 uses both Coulomb counting and periodic voltage-mode state-of-charge measurements to accurately determine the amount of energy left in the battery. It uses an adaptive algorithm called OptimGauge to track the state of charge and corrects the battery model. The STC3115 further enhances accuracy by measuring true initial battery open-circuit voltage and preventing measurement disruptions when connecting the charger or launching an app. The charging inhibitor is a patented feature that significantly improves accuracy. Aging and temperature compensation are built in, and the voltage measurement accuracy is 0.25%. Additional value-ad...