The DS2715 is well suited for cost-sensitive charger applications where the battery pack is either internal or external to the application. It has been optimized for safe and reliable charging of 1 to 10 NiMH cells in series. The internal gain block can be selected as either a comparator or transconductance amplifier for charge current regulation. This makes the DS2715 configurable as a switched DC charger, a linear current regulator, or a switch-mode current source. The DS2715 pre-conditions severely depleted cells before entering full charge mode. It terminates full charge using the dT/dt technique, which requires an external sensing thermistor. Over-temperature, under-temperature, and over-voltage detection prevents charging under unsafe conditions. A user selectable charge timer allows charge rates from 0.167C to 2C. FAST-CHARGE, TOPOFF and DONE modes are included for highly reliable, safe charging of NiMH cells. Discharge mode allows the DS2715 to enter a low power sleep state while the cell pack is being discharged.