AAT3112
500mA High Efficiency Charge Pump
for White LED Flash Applications
3112.2004.12.1.2 13
Applications Information
Charge Pump Efficiency
The AAT3112 is a regulated output voltage doubling charge pump. The efficiency (η) can simply
be defined as a linear voltage regulator with an
effective output voltage that is equal to two times
the input voltage. Efficiency (η) for an ideal voltage
doubler can typically be expressed as the output
power divided by the input power:
In addition, with an ideal voltage doubling charge
pump, the output current may be expressed as half
the input current. The expression to define the
ideal efficiency (η) can be rewritten as:
-or-
For a charge pump with an output of 4.5 volts and
a nominal input of 2.8 volts, the theoretical efficiency is 80.4%. Due to internal switching losses and
IC quiescent current consumption, the actual efficiency can be measured at 79.6%. These figures
are in close agreement across a wide range of output load conditions. Efficiency will decrease as
load current drops below 0.05mAor when the level
of VINapproaches V
OUT
.
Capacitor Selection
Careful selection of the four external capacitors
CIN, C1, C2, and C
OUT
is important because they
will affect turn-on time, output ripple, and transient
performance. Optimum performance will be
obtained when low equivalent series resistance
(ESR) ceramic capacitors are used. In general,
low ESR may be defined as less than 100mΩ.
Capacitor Characteristics
Ceramic composition capacitors are highly recommended over all other types of capacitors for use with
the AAT31 12. Ceramic capacitors of fer many advantages over their tantalum and aluminum electrolytic
counterparts. A ceramic capacitor typically has very
low ESR, is lowest cost, has a smaller PCB footprint,
and is non-polarized. Low ESR ceramic capacitors
help to maximize charge pump transient response.
Since ceramic capacitors are non-polarized, they are
not prone to incorrect connection damage.
Equivalent Series Resistance: ESR is an important characteristic to consider when selecting a
capacitor. ESR is a resistance internal to a capacitor that is caused by the leads, internal connections, size or area, material composition, and ambient temperature. Capacitor ESR is typically measured in milliohms for ceramic capacitors and can
range to more than several ohms for tantalum or
aluminum electrolytic capacitors.
Ceramic Capacitor Materials: Ceramic capacitors
less than 0.1µF are typically made from NPO or
COG materials. NPO and COG materials typically
have tight tolerance and are stable over temperature. Large capacitor values are typically composed of X7R, X5R, Z5U, or Y5V dielectric materials. Large ceramic capacitors, typically greater
than 2.2µF, are often available in low-cost Y5V and
Z5U dielectrics, but large capacitors are not
required in AAT3112 applications.
Capacitor area is another contributor to ESR.
Capacitors that are physically large will have a lower
ESR when compared to an equivalent material
smaller capacitor . These larger devices can improve
circuit transient response when compared to an
equal value capacitor in a smaller package size.
Layout Considerations
High charge pump switching frequencies and large
peak transient currents mandate careful printed circuit board layout. As a general rule for charge pump
boost converters, all external capacitors should be
located as closely as possible to the device package with minimum length trace connections.
Maximize the ground plane around the AAT3112
charge pump and make sure all external capacitors
are connected to the immediate ground plane. Alocal
component side ground plane is recommended.