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 reliable charging of 1 to 10 NiMH cells in series. The DS2715 has an internal gain block that can be selected as either a comparator or transconductance amplifier for charge current regulation. The DS2715 is configurable as a switched DC charger, a linear current regulator, or a switchmode current source. The DS2715 pre-conditions severely depleted cells before entering full charge mode. The DS2715 terminates full charge using the dT/dt technique. It requires an external thermistor for dT/dt detection. Over-temperature, under-temperature, and overvoltage detection prevents charging under unsafe conditions. A user selectable charge timer allows charge rates from 0.15C to 2C. Fast-charge, Top-off 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.