Bidirectional 20V Buck-Boost Battery Charger with SMBus Interface

The RRB96838 is a buck-boost battery charger supporting input voltages up to 23.4V and battery voltages up to 18.3V. It can operate in direct battery charging mode without a battery FET or in narrow-voltage DC (NVDC) charging mode with a battery FET. Featuring advanced Renesas R3™ technology, it ensures highly efficient light-load operation and fast transient response.

For direct battery charging, the RRB96838 supports 2- to 4-cell batteries, making it ideal for applications such as power tools, portable vacuums, drones, robots, and power banks. As an NVDC charger, it regulates system output to a narrow voltage range, ensuring stable system bus voltage. In NVDC operation, system power can be sourced from the adapter, battery, or a combination of both.

The RRB96838 is compatible with a wide range of DC power sources, including USB Type-C® and USB Power Delivery (PD) adapters, and safely charges battery packs with up to four serially connected Li-ion cells. It also supports reverse buck, boost, and buck-boost operation, enabling power transfer from the battery to the input port. Additionally, the RRB96838 features SMBus and I2C serial communication, allowing programming of critical parameters for a fully customized solution.