Application Note:
Use of Low Resistivity Surface Mount PPTC
in Li-ion Polymer Battery Packs
Introduction to Li-ion Battery Technology
Lithium-ion batteries (LIB) have now become part of
the standard battery pack of choice used in most
notebook, smartphone, e-reader, and tablet designs.
The LIB chemistry produces optimal characteristics
with regard to high energy density, low self-discharge,
light weight, long cycle life, lack of memory effect, and
low maintenance. LIBs are now gaining popularity in
other market segments such as electric vehicles,
power tools, and military/aerospace applications. Since
the technology was developed in the 1970s, LIBs have
improved dramatically in terms of energy density, cost,
durability, and safety.
The three main functional components in a lithium-ion
battery cell are the anode (typically graphite), the
cathode (typically lithium cobalt oxide), and a non-aque-
ous electrolyte (typically a lithium salt or organic
solvent containing complexes of lithium ions). The
material choices affect a cell’s voltage, capacity, life,
and safety.
Li-ion cells are available in a cylindrical solid body,
prismatic semi-hard plastic/metal case, or pouch form,
which is also called Li-polymer. Although pouch cells
and prismatics have the highest energy density, they
require some external means of containment to
prevent an explosion when their State of Charge (SOC)
is high (see Figure 1).
Overheating is the main safety concern for lithium-ion
cells. Overheating causes thermal runaway of the
cells, which can lead to cell rupture, re, or explosion.
A deep discharge event could cause internal shorts in
the cell, which would cause a short circuit upon
charging.
Over-charging and deep discharge/short-circuit events
create heat (generated by the anode of the cell) and
oxygen (created by the cathode). Both of these effects
can be dangerous to the cell and cause bloating (in the
case of Li-polymer pouch cells), rupture, re, or even
an explosion.
This is why LIBs have several levels of fail-safe internal
cell level and external protection circuitry, which shuts
down the battery pack when parameters go out of
range. The addition of this protection circuitry takes up
useful space in the battery pack and cell, thereby
reducing the available capacity. It also causes a small
current drain on the pack and contributes to potential
points of failure, which can permanently disable the cell
or pack.
Internal cell protection consists of a shut-down separator
(for over-temperature), tear-away tab (for internal
pressure), vent (pressure relief), and thermal interrupt
(over-current/over-charging) (Figure 1).
Positive Cap
PTC
Device
Gasket
Insulator
Vent Plate
Current Interrupt Device
Positive
Tab
Separator
Positive
Electrode
Negative
Electrode
Negative
Tab
Case
(Positive Polarity)
Current
Collector
Negative Teminal
Gasket
Sealing Cap
Inlet
Gas Release Vent
Sealing Plate
Insulation Plate
Spacer
Separator
Positive
Electrode
Negative
Electrode
Casing
Cathode tab
Anode tab
Separator
Top insulator
Cathode
Positive
Electrode
Negative
Electrode
Negative
Tab
Tab Sealant
Positive Tab
Tab Sealing
Area
Anode
Al laminate lm
Barcode
Side Folding
Laminated
Foil
Figure 1. Various Li-ion cell con gurations
Over the last ve years, LIBs have been the subject of
highly publicized recalls of notebook and cell phone
battery packs, as a result of instances of overheating,
re, and rupture. Several new standards from IEC, UL,
and the DOT/UN have emerged to specify required
safety measures and testing.
©2012 Littelfuse, Inc
1
Application Note:
Use of Low Resistivity Surface Mount PPTC
in Li-ion Polymer Battery Packs
Li-ion and Li-ion polymer chemistry has speci c energy
of 400Wh/L at 20°C, which is approximately two times
the speci c energy of NiMH (nickel metal hydride) and
four times that of the old NiCd (nickel cadmium)
chemistry. Li-ion chemistry also operates at higher
voltages of 3.0–4.2V versus 1.0–1.2V for the older
chemistries. The older chemistries had a moderate-to-
high tolerance to over-charging events, whereas the
newer Li-ion chemistry has a very low tolerance to
over-charging
There are a variety of reasons for battery pack failures:
poorly designed cells, lack of over-current/over-voltage
protection, lack of thermal protection, no tolerance to
swelling, no venting methods for gas, and use in high
temperature environments.
Over-discharge and over-charge are two externally
created events that can cause problems in LIBs. During
over-discharge, if the cell voltage drops lower than
approximately 1.5V, gas will be produced at the anode.
When voltage drops to less than 1V, copper from the
current collector dissolves, causing internal shorting of
the cell. Therefore, under-voltage protection is required
and is provided by the battery protection IC. Over-charge
creates gassing and heat buildup at the cathode when
cell voltage reaches approximately 4.6V. Although
cylindrical cells have internal protection from pressure,
activated CIDs (current interrupt devices) and internal
PTCs (positive temperature coef cient discs that
increase in resistance when heated), Li-polymer cells
do not have internal CIDs and PTCs. External over-
voltage, over-gas, and over-temperature protection is
especially critical for Li-polymer cells
●
IEC 62133:2002, Secondary cells and batteries
containing alkaline or other non-acid electrolytes—Safety
requirements for portable sealed secondary cells, and
for batteries made from them, for use in portable
applications.
IEC 62281, Safety of primary and secondary lithium
cells and batteries during transport—These
requirements cover portable primary
(non-rechargeable) and secondary (rechargeable)
batteries for use as power sources in products.
UL 2054, Standard for Household and Commercial
Batteries—These requirements are intended to reduce
the risk of re or explosion when batteries are used in
a product.
UN/DOT (Dept of Transportation) Manual of Tests and
Criteria 4th Revised Edition Lithium Battery Testing
Requirements – Sec 38.3.
IEEE 1625 - IEEE Standard for Rechargeable Batteries
for Multi-Cell Mobile Computing Devices
IEEE 1725 - IEEE Standard for Rechargeable Batteries
for Cellular Telephones
IEC/UL 60950-1, Information Technology Equipment
Safety—Limited Power Source, Sec 2.5, Table 2B,
requirements to limit current to less than 8A within
5sec ; this speci cation would apply to most battery
systems used for notebook computers, cell phones,
and tablet devices.
●
●
●
●
●
●
Li-ion Battery Safety Standards
Several safety agency standards apply to lithium-ion
battery packs. These are the key standards that govern
the performance, safety testing, and transportation of
lithium-ion battery packs:
●
These standards guide manufacturers/suppliers in
planning and implementing the controls for the design
and manufacture of lithium-ion (Li-ion) and lithium-ion
polymer (Li-ion polymer) rechargeable battery packs.
The typical safety-related tests in these standards,
which involve the use of external and internal battery
pack protection, will include the following (standards will
each have their own speci c requirements and this is
just a brief summary of the types of tests conducted):
UL 1642-2005, Standard for Lithium
Batteries—Requirements are intended to reduce the
risk of re or explosion when lithium batteries are
used in a product.
©2012 Littelfuse, Inc
2
Application Note:
Use of Low Resistivity Surface Mount PPTC
in Li-ion Polymer Battery Packs
1. Short-Circuit tests and Forced Discharge tests:
These tests are conducted by discharging the
battery with a low resistance load and then allowing
the battery to protect itself or fail by re or
explosion; the latter being a test failure. A test pass
is when battery returns to a safe temperature. Tests
are done at room temperature and elevated
temperatures.
2. Abnormal Charging test, Overcharging test, High
Charging Rate test: These tests are conducted by
subjecting the battery pack to several times more
than the normal charging current or charging at an
abnormally fast rate. When there is a non-resettable
over-current device present, the test is repeated at
a current below which the device activates.
3. Heating and Temperature Cycling tests. These tests
are conducted by raising and cycling the battery
pack to high temperature and then checking to see
if the pack responds safely. Fire, explosion, and
venting would be considered failures.
The purpose of the safety standards is to ensure the
battery pack and cells have protection mechanisms
designed into the overall system to prevent rapid
thermal runaway, re, explosion, rupture, venting, or
even gas bloating of the battery packs. All of these
events can create a hazard to the user or any equip-
ment used with the battery pack.
Typical Li-ion and lithium-polymer battery packs have
several levels of protection in order to meet the
required safety standards and to protect the user and
equipment from battery failure hazards. In addition to
internal cell level protection, external protection
solutions are added to provide further safety mea-
sures. Some battery packs will use what is called a
Battery Management Unit (BMU), which is a small
print circuit board with several protection components
(see Figure 2). The BMU will have a central processing
device, which is usually an IC that controls the battery
charge and monitors the pack for unsafe conditions.
The battery controller IC controls two FETs, which act
as the charge and discharge switches. The battery IC
will turn these FETs off as the primary way to shut
down the battery pack. The IC will use thermistors and
temperature cut-outs (TCO) to sense temperature,
current sense resistors to monitor current, gas gauges
to monitor gas buildup, and fuel gauges to monitor
charge. Upon any unsafe condition, the IC will turn the
FETs off to shut down the pack and stop the fault
event. Because the Li-ion chemistry is so dangerous in
certain conditions, there must be a secondary method
for protection. This secondary protector can be a PPTC
(polymeric positive temperature coef cient) resettable
fuse, thermal fuse, or a controllable battery protector
(see Figure 3).
Battery
cell
PCM
Figure 2. A typical Battery Management Unit (BMU) design
Battery Pack
SMD PTC
Switch
Switch
+
Discharge
Charge
Control IC
Battery
Cell
–
Figure 3. A secondary method of battery protection
©2012 Littelfuse, Inc
3
Application Note:
Use of Low Resistivity Surface Mount PPTC
in Li-ion Polymer Battery Packs
General Safety Standard that Applies to
Smartphones and Tablets
IEC/UL/EN 60950-1 - Information Technology Equip-
ment Safety, Part 1: General Requirement
●
Introduction to PPTC Technology
PTC stands for Positive Temperature Coef cient,
which means the resistance of the device increases as
its temperature goes up. PTCs increase in resistance
as temperature increases due to increased current
ow. Polymer PPTC (PPTC) devices are made of a
polymer plastic material. Unlike a typical “one-time”
fuse, a PPTC device (see Figure 4) will reset when
cooled.
The standard applies to battery operated devices that
can be charged from AC mains supply.
Sec 2.5 – Limited Power Source
– Fire enclosure requirements in 4.7.2 are reduced or
not required if the components/connectors are
connected to a Limited Power Source.
– This allows designer to reduce cost, use thinner
materials, etc.
– Limited Power Source spec has two tables:
Table 2B – no OC protective device (so using PTC or
electronic fuse)
– Must limit current to 8A within 5 sec if using PTC
Table 2C – OC protective device is used (fuse)
– Fuse rating 5A or less (210% / 120sec overload
gate)
– Limit Short ckt current to less than 1000 / Vmax
and 250VA within 60sec
Where an overcurrent protective device is used, it
shall be a fuse or a non-adjustable, non-autorest,
electromechanical device
●
How a PPTC Works
●
Carbon
Crystalline Polymer
Carbon
Amorphous
●
Under Normal Operation
■
At operating current
■
Many conductive paths
■
Very low resistance
Under Fault Condition
■
Excessive current causes
device to heat up
■
Fewer conductive paths
■
Result is high resistance
■
Cools down and resets
when fault is removed
●
Figure 4. How a PPTC works
Agency Approvals: Littelfuse PPTCs are recognized
under the Component Program of Underwriters
Laboratories to UL Standard 1434 for Thermistors. The
devices have also been certi ed under the CSA Com-
ponent Acceptance Program.
I
Voltage
Source
V
R
PTC
R
L
Load
Resistance
Figure 5. PPTC resistors
©2012 Littelfuse, Inc
4
Application Note:
Use of Low Resistivity Surface Mount PPTC
in Li-ion Polymer Battery Packs
PPTC trip times are in uenced by:
●
●
Resistance of the device
Ambient temperature and air currents
PCB trace size and copper weight
Proximity of other components
Log Resistance (Ohms)
●
●
Other items that in uence the effective heat transfer
rate from the device to its surroundings can also
impact performance.
Trip Point
Fault
Current
Temperature (°C)
Figure 6. The effect of temperature on the resistance of a PPTC
PPTC resistors are over-current protection devices. Like
fuses, they have two terminals and are placed in line
with the circuit being protected (see Figure 5). Because
they are ideal for situations where frequent over-current
conditions occur or constant uptime is required, PPTCs
are typically used in Li-ion battery pack applications. In
order to limit unsafe currents while allowing constant
safe current levels, their resistance will “reset” auto-
matically when the fault is removed and temperature
returns to a safe level.
Under normal conditions, PPTCs act as a low value
resistor – dissipating little power and barely warm.
Under fault conditions, they heat up due to I2R (Ohmic
heating; >100oC) and their resistance increases 1000X
or more, limiting the current to a small value (see Figure
6). When the current is removed, the PPTC will return
to normal temperature and resistance, restoring the
circuit (see Figure 7).
Current
Normal
Operating
Current
Leakage
Current
Power
Down
for
Reset
Normal
Operating
Current
Time
Figure 7. The effect of changing current levels on a
PPTC’s temperature and resistance
Time Current (TC) curves present the average values
of the trip time at a given current for every part
number (see Figure 8). PPTC trip times will be distrib-
uted above and below the curve. Lower percentage
overloads produce greater variations in trip time.
Customer veri cation tests need to be done for actual
applications to ensure proper component selection.
©2012 Littelfuse, Inc
5
