Intersil ISL94203EVKIT1Z User manual

1
ISL94203EVKIT1Z Evaluation Kit User Guide
The ISL94203EVKIT1Z is a kit that facilitates testing of the
ISL94203 Li-ion battery pack monitor and control ICs. The
ISL94203 monitors cell voltage, current and temperature. It
converts the cell voltages, pack current and temperatures to
12-bit digital values, provides cell balance control and provides
complete stand-alone battery pack operation.
The ISL94203 default stand-alone operation can be overridden
by an external microcontroller. The PC graphical user interface
(GUI) supports the hooks needed to monitor stand-alone
operation and to demonstrate operation with an external
microcontroller.
Specifications
This board has been configured and optimized for the following
operating conditions:
• Configurable to 3 to 8 cells, default 3 cells
• Standard cell voltage range 2.699V to 4.250V
• OV/UV delay times 1 and 4 seconds respectively
• CB max delta voltage 0.501
• CB max/min voltage 4.032V and 3.100V
NOTE: Consult programming options for full listing of programmable
parameters and ranges.
Key Features
• Status LEDs monitor RGO, EOC, SD and PSD conditions
• Jumper configuration single or split path applications
• Wakeup push button for "Exit Sleep" control
• FETs off push button for quick all FETs off condition
• Cell balance LEDs for MCB process observation
• PCB layout accommodates "solder braid" addition for high
current evaluation
• Software enables real time observation and data collection
of 14 analog measurements and 27 digital status indicators
References
ISL94203 Datasheet
Ordering Information
PART NUMBER DESCRIPTION
ISL94203EVKIT1Z Evaluation kit for the ISL94203
FIGURE 1. ISL94203EVKIT1Z EVALUATION BOARD
July 30, 2015
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CAUTION: These devices are sensitive to electrostatic discharge; follow proper IC Handling Procedures.
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What is Inside
The Evaluation Kit contains:
• ISL94203 evaluation board
• MCB_PS_Z multicell power supply test board
• ISL94203INTFACEKIT1Z USB to I2C interface kit, includes a
PCB and I2C cable
• USB cable, connects PC to USB-I2C interface board
What is Needed
The following instruments will be needed to perform testing:
• 30V/1A adjustable power supply
• Wires to connect power supply to MCB_PS_Z board
• Precision multimeter (optional)
• Oscilloscope (optional)
• Cables and wires (optional)
Software Installation
Step 1: Connect the ISLUSBI2C USB to the PC. The board
should automatically enumerate in the device control
panel under Human Interface Devices. The vendor ID
will be 0x09AA and the product ID will be 0x2036.
Since it is a HID device, no special driver is needed.
Step 2: Copy the Intersil_ISL94203_Installer_Vxxx.exe
program to the PC (any desired location). Double-click
to run the installation file. Note you may need to use
the “Run as Administrator” open when performing the
installation.file.
Quick Hardware Setup Guide
Step 1: Check the jumpers and switches on the board. The
board should be configured as follows:
•ADDR jumper set to “0”.
•xT2 Select jumper on either “CELL” or “FET”.
• FET jumpers set for either one path or two path.
Start with one path.
•J4 jumper is set to “1 Path”.
J9 jumper is set to “1 Path”.
Step 2: Connect the power supply to the MCB_PS_Z board. The
positive terminal is J5/J11 and the negative terminal is
J8/J12. There should be a jumper on JP2/8CELL.
Step 3: Set the power supply voltage to 28V (3.5V per cell).
(Optional: check that the voltages at terminal J1 or J3
are 3.5V per cell).
Step 4: Turn off the power to the power supply.
Step 5: Connect the ISL94203 board directly to the MCB_PS_Z
board at connector J1. Make sure the board is
connected on the ground side of J1 (see Figure 2).
Step 6: Turn on the power to the supply. If no LEDs light, press
the “WakeUp” button. Notice that there is one green
LED (RGO), indicating the LDO regulator on the
ISL94203 is operating.
The voltages at various points should be:
RGO = 2.5V ±3%
VREF = 1.80V ±0.5%
Step 7: Connect the USB port of the PC to the USB port of the
ISL94203INTFACEKIT1Z interface board.
Step 8: Connect the I2C cable from the
ISL94203INTFACEKIT1Z board to the
ISL94203EVKIT1Z board (J13).
Step 9: Open the ISL94203 GUI software. Use the software to
read the cell voltages.
Step 10: Compare the voltages at the board input (use a meter
to measure each input voltage, because the MCB_PS_Z
board may not accurately divide the voltages into equal
3.5V steps) with the readings provided by the GUI.
These voltages should closely match.
Step 11: See other operations described later in this document.
PCB Layout Guidelines
The AC performance of this circuit depends greatly on the care
taken in designing the PC board. The following are
recommendations to achieve optimum high performance from
your PC board.
• The use of low inductance components, such as chip resistors
and chip capacitors, is strongly recommended.
• Minimize signal trace lengths. This is especially true for the
VDD, charge pump decoupling, CS1, CS2, and VC0-VC8 inputs.
Trace inductance and capacitance can easily affect circuit
performance. Vias in the signal lines add inductance at high
frequency and should be avoided.
• Match channel-to-channel analog I/O trace lengths and layout
symmetry. This is especially true for the CS1 and CS2 lines,
since their inputs are normally very low voltage.
• Maximize use of AC decoupled PCB layers. All signal I/O lines
should be routed over continuous ground planes (i.e., no split
planes or PCB gaps under these lines). Avoid vias in the signal
I/O lines.
• When testing, use good quality connectors and cables,
matching cable types and keeping cable lengths to a
minimum.

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FIGURE 2. ISL94203EVKIT1Z BOARD SETUP
ISL94203EVKIT1Z
MCB_PS_Z BOARD
SET I2C ADDR
SET xT2 THERMISTOR
TO FET OR TO CELL
CELL BALANCE
LEDs
ISL94203INTFACEKIT1Z
TO PC USB PORT
WAKE UP
CONTROL
TO USB-I2C
BOARD
I2C PORT
FETSOFF
MANUAL
CONTROL
ISL94203EVKIT1Z BOARD
I2C PORT TO
SETS CHMON
TO 1 PATH OR
2 PATH
6V TO 38V
SETS POWER PATH
(CHARGE/DISCHARGE)
1 PATH OR 2 PATH)

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Quick GUI Setup Guide
Step 1: Once the board is powered up and connected to the PC
through the USB cable, start the GUI program. Then
click on the dropdown box.
FIGURE 3. MAIN GUI START-UP WINDOW
ISL94203INTFACEKIT1Z
I2C PORT
TO EVAL BOARD
SETS 1
DISCHARGE PATH
SETS CHMON
TO 1 PATH
FETSOFF
MANUAL CONTROL
I2C PORT
TO USE
USB-I2C BOARD
ISL94203EVKIT1Z
MC3_PS_Z BOARD
WAKE UP
CONTROL
6V TO 38V
TO PC USB PORT
SET I2C ADDR
SET XT2 THERMISTOR
TO FET OR TO CELL
CELL BALANCE LEDs

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Step 2: Click on “Read Voltages (Single).” This updates all the
cell voltages, temperature and current readings, and
updates the status indicators.
Step 3: Click on “Read Pack Settings.” This returns the
configuration parameters set in the device.
Step 4: Review the operation of the GUI features in the
following sections.
FIGURE 4. MAIN GUI WINDOW SHOWING PACK SETTINGS
ISL94203EVKIT1Z

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Using the GUI
Common Screen
The right side of the GUI shows the status of the ISL94203. At the
top are voltage, current and temperature readings. The bottom
are the status bits.
At the bottom of the screen are several controls for temperature
settings and memory access.
CELL VOLTAGE SCANS
The voltage readouts (Figure 5) show the values for each cell,
plus CELLMAX and CELLMIN values. The CELLMAX and CELLMIN
values are returned from the ISL94203 registers. To properly
implement this operation, the GUI stops the internal voltage scan
of the ISL94203 (using the µCSCAN bit). It then reads the cell
voltages and CELLMAX and CELLMIN values and restarts the
automatic scan of the device. The values are read
asynchronously, so without stopping the scan there is not
sufficient time to read all the values prior to the next internal
scan. For this reason the CELLMIN and CELLMAX values are often
reported from a different scan than the rest of the cell voltages.
Also, during the scan, the cell balance operation is stopped. This
is so the cell balance currents do not cause false readings of the
cell voltages, due to external voltage drops.
To the right of the cell voltages, there is a graphic indication of
the capacity of the cell. This is based on the voltage of the cell. In
this graphic depiction, the scale shows no bar when the voltage is
less than or equal to the undervoltage threshold. It shows 100%,
or maximum, when the cell voltage is equal to or greater than the
overvoltage threshold. See the overvoltage and undervoltage
thresholds in the Pack settings tab on the left of the screen.
The GUI highlights the specific cells that equal the CELLMAX and
CELLMIN voltages. This helps to identify which cells are high or
low on quick inspection.
When any cell voltage is lower than the undervoltage level, or
higher than the overvoltage level, the background color of that
voltage readout changes to red. When the voltage rises above the
UV recovery voltage or drops below the OV recovery voltage the
background color returns to white. These color changes are GUI
representations of the cell voltage conditions, the actual
indication from the device is shown by the UV and OV status
indicators (bottom right of the screen). These indicators come
directly from the device status bits.
Below the CellMIN and CellMAX readings are three boxes that
show additional voltage values. The top box contains the sum of
the individual cell readings. The middle box shows the voltage
reading of the total battery pack as derived from an internal
divide by 16 voltage divider and converted by the ADC.
Comparing these two values allows a gross determination if
there is a cell voltage failure.
The bottom box shows the voltage of the 2.5V regulator. The
regulator voltage is internally divided by 2, then converted by the
ADC and multiplied by 2 prior to display.
Pressing the “Read Voltages (Single)” button completes one read
of the values in the device, (see Figure 6). This includes all of the
voltages and the status bits. Between presses of this button, the
device continues to scan the voltage, current and temperature
values at the rate of 32ms (or 256ms if in IDLE mode, or 512ms
if in DOZE mode).
Pressing the “Auto Scan START” button starts a repetitive update
of the values. The rate of update is set by the “Rate (sec)”
dropdown box. As shown, the GUI updates the voltages and
status every 1 second. Autoscan is stopped by pressing the
autoscan “STOP” button. While the autoscan is operating, all
other memory accesses are prohibited. To read the pack settings
or change a register value, first stop the automatic scan.
To log the data, press “Logging START” prior to clicking on the
“Auto Scan START” button. The data will be stored as a text
document in a file location specified by the user. When all data
has been captured, stop the auto scan and stop logging.
FIGURE 5.
FIGURE 6.

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TEMPERATURE READINGS
To the right of the pack voltage values are the temperature
readings, (see Figure 7). In the default state, these boxes report
the voltage on the temperature inputs. There are two boxes for
each temperature.
The internal temperature reading (at the top) has two boxes. The
left box shows the voltage reading from the internal temperature
sensor. This voltage is dependent on the setting of the
temperature gain bit (TGAIN). The temperature gain can be
changed using the GUI by clicking the “TGAIN” button in the
temperature box in the bottom left of the screen (below the tabs).
The box on the right shows the conversion of the internal
temperature to °C. This conversion uses Equations 1 and 2:
For the external temperatures, the left box shows the digital
reading from the ADC. The right box shows the applied input
voltage. The value on the left is dependent on the setting of the
TGAIN bit. If TGAIN = 0, then the temperature input voltage is
multiplied by 2 prior to being read by the ADC. If TGAIN = 1, then
the temperature input voltage is multiplied by 1. The left box of
the external temperature readings simply translates the voltage
readout by the ADC. The right box calculates the input voltage,
based on the setting of the TGAIN bit.
The temperature readings can also be displayed in °C,
(see Figure 8). The conversion to °C depends on several items.
First is the gain setting, so the actual input voltage is known.
Second is the external resistor divider components. Third is the
conversion of the thermistor value to °C.
The gain setting is important only for determining the voltage
applied at the input xTn pin.
Next, the conversion depends on the external resistor divider, and
assumes that the external circuit is implemented as shown in the
Thermistor tab drawing, Figure 9 on page 8.
There is a 10k resistor parallel to the thermistor. There are two
reasons for this. First, it makes the conversion curve more linear.
Second, the thermistor voltage range better matches the default
2x gain on the temperature input amplifier. The thermistors are
from Murata (XH103F). If an external thermistor replaces the
thermistors on the board, the conversion can be changed by
changing the values in the Thermistor tab of the GUI. The values
in the table are the voltages applied to the xTn input pins. The
voltage depends on the resistance of the Thermistor at each
temperature and the voltage on the TEMPCO pin. The TEMPCO
voltage is 2.5V.
Based on calculations, the voltage/temperature curve for this circuit
is shown in Figure 10 on page 8. The GUI uses the Thermistor table
for this conversion and performs a linear interpolation between
points.
For calculations of the external temperature, the Thermistor tab
contains a value for the external divider resistor. This can be
changed by the user, but not saved.
FIGURE 7. TEMPERATURE READINGS
(EQ. 1)
TGAIN 0=intTemp mV
1.8527
---------------------------------------273.15–ICTemp C=
(EQ. 2)
TGAIN 1=intTemp mV
0.92635
---------------------------------------273.15–ICTemp C=
FIGURE 8. TEMPERATURE READINGS DISPLAYED IN °C

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FIGURE 9. ISL94203 GUI THERMISTOR TAB
FIGURE 10. VOLTAGE TO TEMPERATURE CONVERSION
0.000
0.100
0.200
0.300
0.400
0.500
0.600
0.700
0.800
-50 0 50 100 150
TEMPERATURE (°C)
INPUT VOLTAGE (V)

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CURRENT READINGS
The current readout consists of four boxes, (see Figure 11). The
top box shows the voltage across the sense resistor, as reported
by the device and converted to volts. The next box shows the
current reading in milliamps. This value depends on the value of
the current resistor. This can be entered into the third current
box. The default value is 1Ω, because that is the value on the
ISL94203EVKIT1Z board. If the resistor value changes, then this
value can be changed in the GUI (but the default cannot be
changed in this revision of the GUI). The bottom box simply
relates the current amplifier gain setting in the device. In
automatic scans, there is an automatic gain control. The gain
setting is most useful when forcing a current read by the GUI.
STATUS BITS
The status indicators on the lower right of the GUI screen (see
Figure 12), reflect the status of the bits in the device. If an
indicator is red, it shows a fault or out-of-bounds condition. If an
indicator is green, it is showing an operating condition, such as
current direction or power mode.
The status indicators are automatically updated when doing a
voltage read operation. However, refreshing only the status bits is
much quicker. So, clicking the “Read Status bits” updates only
the status.
FET INDICATORS
Above the voltage readings are the FET indicators, (see
Figure 13). These show the status of the PCFET, CFET, and DFET
control bits. If the bit is “1” indicating that the FET should be on,
the indicator is green. If the bit is “0” indicating that the FET
should be off, then the indicator is red.
The FET indicators are more than just readouts. Clicking on the
indicators can also set or clear the bits to turn on or turn off the
FETs. However, the GUI does not have control over the FETs when
the device is operating in stand-alone mode. To control the FETs
through the GUI requires that the µCFET bit is set first. This bit is
set or reset using the “µC Controls FET” button in the µC Control
Tab.
Above the FET control bits are some controls to change the
operation of the device. These controls are “PCFET enable”,
“CFET on during OV”, and “DFET on during UV”.
Setting the “PCFET enable” to active causes the PCFET to turn on,
instead of the CFET, when the voltage is below the Low V Charge
threshold voltage (see the Pack settings).
Setting the “CFET on during OV” to active means that the charge
FET will turn on when there is an overvoltage condition, if the
device detects a discharge current. This reduces heat generated
in the CFET during discharge. This is more important when there
is a single charge/discharge path configuration.
Similarly, setting the DFET on during UV to active means that the
discharge FET will turn on when there is an undervoltage
condition, if the device detects a charge current. This reduces
heat generated in the DFET during charge. This is more
important when there is a single charge/discharge path
configuration.
OTHER MAIN SCREEN CONTROLS
Communication to the device requires an I2C bus. The I2C bus
uses a Slave byte to determine the specific device on bus that is
being addressed. In the GUI this is set by the I2C Addr box,
(see Figure 14). This is located in the lower left of the screen. By
default, the Slave Byte is 50H (0101 000x). This addresses the
device having the ADDR pin pulled low. In a cascade
configuration (or an application that does not need current sense
or FET control, where the ADDR pin is tied high,) write the I2C
Addr as 52.
FIGURE 11. CURRENT READOUT
FIGURE 12. STATUS INDICATORS
FIGURE 13. FET INDICATORS
FIGURE 14. I2C ADDRESS BOX

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Temperature measurement options are selected in this box
(Figure 15) below the tabs. The pack settings and temperature
outputs can be shown as either volts or °C. Changing the setting
initiates a voltage scan and an update of the Pack Settings. The
calculations are made in the GUI as described in previous. The
device simply maintains the voltage value associated with the
temperature.
This box also has the selection for the TGAIN bit. Clicking on the
TGAIN box changes the TGAIN bit in the device, updates all of the
RAM settings for temperature limits and initiates an update of
the Pack Settings tab. It does not do a voltage scan. The caption
shows the current status of the temperature gain. Figure 15
indicates that the temperature gain is set to 2x.
Access to EEPROM requires an access control bit to be set prior
to a read or write operation. In all of the screens where a button
initiates multiple read or write operations, the memory access is
automatically set to the correct access code and automatically
reverts to RAM access. However, for individual memory read or
write, it may be necessary to change the access code. These
buttons allow this access code change. Simply click on the
desired memory area button, prior to the actual read or write
operation.
The ISL94203 Internal AD Utility screen enables the user to view
and record AD readings in real time. By using the I2C interface,
the GUI enables a user to select any of the internal Mux channels
and view/capture the results in real time.
To bring up the AD form, click on the “Internal AD Utility”
selection on the menu bar of the main form.
When first loaded, the new form will appear as in Figure 18.
FIGURE 15. TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT OPTIONS
FIGURE 17.
FIGURE 16. MEMORY ACCESS
ISL94203EVKIT1Z
FIGURE 18.