
NXP Semiconductors
UM10301
User Manual for PCF85x3, PCF85x63, PCA8565, PCF2123, and
PCA21125
UM10301
All information provided in this document is subject to legal disclaimers.
© NXP Semiconductors N.V. 2015. All rights reserved.
User manual
Rev. 2.1 — 23 July 2015
31 of 54
(diode) or a blocking component and a current limiting component (resistor) in its circuit.
A rechargeable lithium battery (secondary cell) only requires a current limiting
component. In order to charge such a battery properly, a relatively complicated circuit is
necessary which controls both voltage and current and which will not be discussed here.
The mentioned IEC/UL standard states that circuits employing lithium batteries shall be
designed to prevent forced charge and discharge if this would result in a hazard.
Practically this means that the application must ensure that both charging and
discharging currents will be limited to safe values under any circumstances in order for
the application to pass Underwriters Laboratories safety approval, or other similar
standards. If a series diode is added meeting full UL requirements is not difficult. An
example schematic is given in Fig 12. Further refer to the relevant UL/IEC documents
and the specification of the battery used.
(1) D2 may not always be necessary. Refer to text.
Fig 12. Backup circuit using primary lithium cell
3.0 V or 3.6 V Lithium batteries are suitable and sizes are available that can power an
RTC for over 10 years. The battery can simply be connected via a diode D
2
to V
DD
of the
RTC and ground. If for D
2
a Schottky diode is chosen, voltage drop is limited. However,
since the voltage of a lithium cell remains rather stable over its life time this is usually not
necessary. Depending on the soldering method used the battery can often only be
placed after the board has been soldered to avoid short circuiting of the battery during
the soldering process or damaging the lithium cells due to the high temperatures that
occur during soldering; cell temperature must remain typically below 85 °C. Therefore a
holder must be provided in which the battery is placed after soldering, or the battery must
be soldered separately on the board after the other components have been placed. This
increases cost.
Self-discharge at room temperature and below is typically less than 1% per year. At
higher temperatures, say above about 60 °C, self-discharge increases quickly.
Obviously, this self-discharge also occurs when the RTC is not battery powered, the
lithium cell is always there. Therefore the storage and operating temperature of the
application is to be considered as well. During battery discharge the voltage remains
stable such that at the end of life the voltage is almost the same as with a fresh battery
and then suddenly dropping fast.
Many countries govern disposal of electronics products including the batteries at end of
life. In some cases the manufacturer is responsible for complying with such regulations
which may need some attention during design of the product.