Battery Identification

Maxim's battery identification ICs provide data storage and serial number identification for battery packs. Cyclic redundancy check (CRC) verification provides data integrity during communication. The low-voltage 1-Wire^® interface of our battery ID ICs enables serial communication on a single battery contact. The 64-bit unique serial number allows multidrop networking and identification of individual devices.

Our battery authentication ICs employ hardware-based Secure Hash Algorithm-1 (SHA-1) token authentication. This allows for security without the added cost and complexity of a microprocessor-based system. Battery authentication is performed using a single contact through the 1-Wire interface.

Battery Authentication

Battery Safety

One is safety, especially in products that use lithium-ion battery technology. Other important reasons include reputation protection, counterfeit protection, and profit protection. In the past, battery replacements used form factor authentication – i.e., the battery casing and connectors were molded to fit the application. However, this type of authentication can be easily overcome, i.e., a third party can produce exact physical replicas of the batteries.

Battery Benefits

An electronic solution to battery authentication offers the superior protection of an electronic challenge and response mechanism. There are many forms of electronic authentication available. Straightforward methods, such as using an unchanging bitstream challenge which requires a simple bitstream response, are easy to implement but are easily defeated. More secure authentication techniques are much more difficult or economically impossible to defeat. Our DeepCover® secure authenticators are ideal for applications that require the highest level of security—those where reputation protection, property protection, or profit protection are of the utmost importance. These secure authentication ICs provide strong, but affordable, cryptographic security using standards-based algorithms that are easy to use.

Also see:
1-Wire products
Secure Authenticators
Battery Authentication Applications