Typical Circuit and Layout
Guidelines
(Continued)
As in any switching regulator, layout is very important. Rapidly switching currents associated with wiring inductance can
generate voltage transients which can cause problems. For
minimal inductance and ground loops, the wires indicated by
heavy lines should be wide printed circuit traces and
should be kept as short as possible. For best results, ex-
ternal components should be located as close to the
switcher lC as possible using ground plane construction or
single point grounding.
If open core inductors are used, special care must be
taken as to the location and positioning of this type of inductor.Allowing the inductor flux to intersect sensitive feedback,
lC groundpath and C
OUT
wiring can cause problems.
When using the adjustable version, special care must be
taken as to the location of the feedback resistors and the associated wiring. Physically locate both resistors near the IC,
and route the wiring away from the inductor, especially an
open core type of inductor. (See application section for more
information.)
Application Information
PIN FUNCTIONS
+V
IN
(Pin 7)— This is the positive input supply for the IC
switching regulator. A suitable input bypass capacitor must
be present at this pin to minimize voltage transients and to
supply the switching currents needed by the regulator.
Ground (Pin 6) —Circuit ground.
Output (Pin 8)— Internal switch. The voltage at this pin
switches between (+V
IN−VSAT
) and approximately −0.5V,
with a duty cycle of V
OUT/VIN
. To minimize coupling to sensitive circuitry,the PC board copper area connected to this pin
should be kept to a minimum.
Feedback (Pin 4)— Senses the regulated output voltage to
complete the feedback loop.
Shutdown /Soft-start (Pin 5) —This dual function pin provides the following features: (a) Allows the switching regulator circuit to be shut down using logic level signals thus dropping the total input supply current to approximately 80 µA.
(b)Adding a capacitor to this pin provides a soft-start feature
which minimizes startup current and provides a controlled
ramp up of the output voltage.
Error Flag (Pin 1)—Open collector output that provides a
low signal (flag transistor ON) when the regulated output
voltage drops more than 5%from the nominal output voltage. On start up, Error Flag is low until V
OUT
reaches 95%of
the nominal output voltage and a delay time determined by
the Delay pin capacitor.This signal can be used as a reset to
a microprocessor on power-up.
Delay (Pin 2)— At power-up, this pin can be used to provide
a time delay between the time the regulated output voltage
reaches 95%of the nominal output voltage, and the time the
error flag output goes high.
Bias Supply (Pin 3) —This feature allows the regulators internal circuitry to be powered from the regulated output voltage or an external supply, instead of the input voltage. This
results in increased efficiency under some operating conditions, such as low output current and/or high input voltage.
Special Note If any of the above four features (Shutdown
/Soft-start, Error Flag, Delay, or Bias Supply) are not used,
the respective pins should be left open.
EXTERNAL COMPONENTS
SOFT-START CAPACITOR
C
SS
—A capacitor on this pin provides the regulator with a
Soft-start feature (slow start-up). When the DC input voltage
is first applied to the regulator, or when the Shutdown
/Soft-start pin is allowed to go high, a constant current (approximately 5 µA begins charging this capacitor). As the capacitor voltage rises, the regulator goes through four operating regions (See the bottom curve in
Figure 13
).
1. Regulator in Shutdown.
When the SD /SS pin voltage is
between 0V and 1.3V, the regulator is in shutdown, the output voltage is zero, and the IC quiescent current is approximately 85 µA.
2. Regulator ON, but the output voltage is zero.
With the
SD /SS pin voltage between approximately 1.3V and 1.8V,
the internal regulatory circuitry is operating, the quiescent
current rises to approximately 5 mA, but the output voltage is
still zero. Also, as the 1.3V threshold is exceeded, the
Soft-start capacitor charging current decreases from 5 µA
down to approximately 1.6 µA. This decreases the slope of
capacitor voltage ramp.
3. Soft-start Region.
When the SD /SS pin voltage is between 1.8V and 2.8V (@25˚C), the regulator is in a Soft-start
condition. The switch (Pin 8) duty cycle initially starts out
very low, with narrow pulses and gradually get wider as the
capacitor SD /SS pin ramps up towards 2.8V. As the duty
cycle increases, the output voltage also increases at a controlled ramp up. See the center curve in
Figure 13
. The input
supply current requirement also starts out at a low level for
the narrow pulses and ramp up in a controlled manner. This
is a very useful feature in some switcher topologies that require large startup currents (such as the inverting configuration) which can load down the input power supply.
Note: The lower curve shown in
Figure 13
shows the Soft-start region from
0%to 100%. This is not the duty cycle percentage, but the output voltage percentage. Also, the Soft-start voltage range has a negative temperature coefficient associated with it. See the Soft-start curve in the
electrical characteristics section.
4. Normal operation.
Above 2.8V, the circuit operates as a
standard Pulse Width Modulated switching regulator. The
capacitor will continue to charge up until it reaches the internal clamp voltage of approximately 7V. If this pin is driven
from a voltage source, the current must be limited to about
1 mA.
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