Linear launches 80V buck-boost battery charging controller

Featuring automatic maximum power point tracking (MPPT) and temperature compensation, the device operates from input voltages above, below or equal to the regulated battery float voltage. Its full featured battery charger offers many selectable constant-current constant-voltage charging profiles, making it suitable for charging a range of Lithium or lead acid chemistry types, including sealed lead acid, gel cells and flooded cells. All charge termination algorithms are provided on-board, eliminating the need for software or firmware and thus reducing design cycle time. The LT8490 operates over a 6 to 80V input voltage range and can produce a 1.3 to 80V battery float voltage output using a single inductor with 4-switch synchronous rectification. The controller is capable of charging currents as high as 10A depending on the choice of external FETs. Its MPPT circuit enables a sweep of the full operating range of a solar panel, finding the true maximum power point, even in the presence of local maxima points caused by partial shading of the panel. Once the true maximum power point is found, the LT8490 will operate at that point while using a dithering technique to quickly track changes in the local maximum power point. With this methodology, the LT8490 is optimised to fully utilise the power generated by a solar panel, even in non ideal operating environments.