Advanced Linear Devices Inc. announced its six-channel supercapacitor automatic balancing (SAB) PCB. The SABMB6 can balance any size of supercapacitor with zero added power dissipation. Each PCB can balance up to six supercapacitors stacked in a series, ranging in size from six to hundreds of supercapacitors with capacities from 0.1 to 3,000 Farads in voltages of 12 and higher. The ultra-low power dissipation enables energy-efficient supercapacitor balancing, which is ideal for applications that require low-loss energy harvesting, long life, and battery backup or replacement.

Targeting 12V battery applications, where six 2V-cells are increasingly used, developers are often required to stack supercapacitors in series or in parallel. The SABMB6 allows up to six connected cells, reducing the risk of a short circuit and battery failure.

Each six-channel PCB is populated with three ALD9100XX SAB MOSFETs that automatically balance the leakage and voltage of each supercapacitor cell connected in series. Optional reverse-biased external clamping power diodes (Schottky rectifiers) can be installed when necessary across each SAB MOSFET to clamp surge current transients. ALD also offers a blank SABMB6 PCB for customers to insert their own SAB MOSFETs.

The product family joins ALD’s existing two- and four-channel SAB PCBs, the SABMB2 and SABMB16, and offers designers lower bill-of-material costs. The boards can be cascaded with mix-and-match configurability to balance multiple series stacks, i.e. combining ALD’s two-, four-, and six-channel PCBs as required. Like other members of the product family, it is a simple, out-of-the-box, plug-and-play PCB solution reducing time-to-market for existing and emerging applications. No electrical engineering expertise or board design is required; the user has only to mount the PCB and wire the appropriate connections from the SABMB6 board to the respective supercapacitor nodes.

The compact SABMB6 PCB is made from RoHS-compliant FR4 material, and measures 0.6 × 1.6 inch (15.24 × 40.64 mm). It is rated for operation at the industrial temperature range of -40 to +85°C. The product can be used for evaluation, prototyping, or production. The product family is in stock at Mouser and Digikey. Prices range from $12.20 to $38.97 each.