7
CS8164
Application Notes: continued
Step 3: Increase the ESR of the capacitor from zero using
the decade box and vary the load current until oscillations
appear. Record the values of load current and ESR that
cause the greatest oscillation. This represents the worst
case load conditions for the output at low temperature.
Step 4: Maintain the worst case load conditions set in step
3 and vary the input voltage until the oscillations increase.
This point represents the worst case input voltage conditions.
Step 5: If the capacitor is adequate, repeat steps 3 and 4
with the next smaller valued capacitor. A smaller capacitor
will usually cost less and occupy less board space. If the
output oscillates within the range of expected operating
conditions, repeat steps 3 and 4 with the next larger standard capacitor value.
Step 6: Test the load transient response by switching in
various loads at several frequencies to simulate its real
working environment. Vary the ESR to reduce ringing.
Step 7: Remove the unit from the environmental chamber
and heat the IC with a heat gun. Vary the load current as
instructed in step 5 to test for any oscillations.
Once the minimum capacitor value with the maximum
ESR is found for each output, a safety factor should be
added to allow for the tolerance of the capacitor and any
variations in regulator performance. Most good quality
aluminum electrolytic capacitors have a tolerance of +/20% so the minimum value found should be increased by
at least 50% to allow for this tolerance plus the variation
which will occur at low temperatures. The ESR of the
capacitors should be less than 50% of the maximum allowable ESR found in step 3 above.
Repeat steps 1 through 7 with the capacitor on the other
output, C3.
The maximum power dissipation for a dual output regulator (Figure 1) is:
P
D(max)
= {V
IN(max)
- V
OUT1(min)}IOUT1(max)
+
{V
IN(max)
- V
OUT2(min)}IOUT2(max)+VIN(max)IQ
(1)
where:
V
IN(max)
is the maximum input voltage,
V
OUT1(min)
is the minimum output voltage from V
OUT1
,
V
OUT2(min)
is the minimum output voltage from V
OUT2
,
I
OUT1(max)
is the maximum output current for the applica-
tion,
I
OUT2(max)
is the maximum output current for the applica-
tion, and
IQis the quiescent current the regulator consumes at
I
OUT(max)
.
Figure 1: Dual output regulator with key performance parameters
labeled.
Once the value of P
D(max)
is known, the maximum permis-
sible value of R
QJA
can be calculated:
R
QJA
=
(2)
The value of R
QJA
can then be compared with those in the
package section of the data sheet. Those packages with
R
QJA
's less than the calculated value in equation 2 will keep
the die temperature below 150¡C.
In some cases, none of the packages will be sufficient to
dissipate the heat generated by the IC, and an external
heatsink will be required.
A heat sink effectively increases the surface area of the
package to improve the flow of heat away from the IC and
into the surrounding air.
Each material in the heat flow path between the IC and the
outside environment will have a thermal resistance. Like
series electrical resistances, these resistances are summed
to determine the value of R
QJA
:
R
QJA
= R
QJC
+ R
QCS
+ R
QSA
(3)
where:
R
QJC
= the junction-to-case thermal resistance,
R
QCS
= the case-to-heatsink thermal resistance, and
R
QSA
= the heatsink-to-ambient thermal resistance.
R
QJC
appears in the package section of the data sheet. Like
R
QJA
, it too is a function of package type. R
QCS
and R
QSA
are functions of the package type, heatsink and the interface between them. These values appear in heat sink data
sheets of heat sink manufacturers.
Heat Sinks
150¡C - T
A
P
D