Thermal-Overload Protection
Thermal-overload protection limits total power dissipation in the MAX8877/MAX8878. When the junction temperature exceeds TJ= +155°C, the thermal sensor
signals the shutdown logic, turning off the pass transistor and allowing the IC to cool. The thermal sensor will
turn the pass transistor on again after the IC’s junction
temperature cools by 15°C, resulting in a pulsed output
during continuous thermal-overload conditions.
Thermal-overload protection is designed to protect the
MAX8877/MAX8878 in the event of fault conditions. For
continual operation, do not exceed the absolute maximum junction-temperature rating of TJ= +150°C.
Operating Region and Power Dissipation
The MAX8877/MAX8878’s maximum power dissipation
depends on the thermal resistance of the case and circuit
board, the temperature difference between the die junction and ambient air, and the rate of air flow. The power
dissipation across the device is P = I
OUT(VIN
- V
OUT
).
The maximum power dissipation is:
P
MAX
= (TJ- TA) / (θJB+ θBA)
where TJ- TAis the temperature difference between
the MAX8877/MAX8878 die junction and the surrounding air, θJB(or θJC) is the thermal resistance of the
package, and θBAis the thermal resistance through the
printed circuit board, copper traces, and other materials to the surrounding air.
The GND pin of the MAX8877/MAX8878 performs the
dual function of providing an electrical connection to
ground and channeling heat away. Connect the GND
pin to ground using a large pad or ground plane.
Reverse Battery Protection
The MAX8877/MAX8878 have a unique protection
scheme that limits the reverse supply current to 1mA
when either VINor V
SHDN
falls below ground. Their circuitry monitors the polarity of these two pins and disconnects the internal circuitry and parasitic diodes when the
battery is reversed. This feature prevents device damage.
Noise Reduction
An external 0.01µF bypass capacitor at BP, in conjunction with an internal 200kΩ resistor, creates a 80Hz lowpass filter for noise reduction. The MAX8877/MAX8878
exhibit 30µV
RMS
of output voltage noise with CBP=
0.01µF and C
OUT
= 10µF. This is negligible in most
applications. Start-up time is minimized by a power-on
circuit that pre-charges the bypass capacitor. The
Typical Operating Characteristics
section shows
graphs of Noise vs. BP Capacitance, Noise vs. Load
Current, and Output Noise Spectral Density.
____________Applications Information
Capacitor Selection and
Regulator Stability
Normally, use a 1µF capacitor on the MAX8877/
MAX8878’s input and a 1µF to 10µF capacitor on the output. Larger input capacitor values and lower ESRs provide better supply-noise rejection and line-transient
response. Reduce noise and improve load-transient
response, stability, and power-supply rejection by using
large output capacitors. For stable operation over the full
temperature range and with load currents up to 150mA, a
minimum of 1µF is recommended.
Note that some ceramic dielectrics exhibit large capacitance and ESR variation with temperature. With
dielectrics such as Z5U and Y5V, it may be necessary to
use 2.2µF or more to ensure stability at temperatures
below -10°C. With X7R or X5R dielectrics, 1µF should be
sufficient at all operating temperatures. Also, for high-ESR
tantalum capacitors, 2.2µF or more may be needed to
maintain ESR in the stable region. A graph of the Region
of Stable C
OUT
ESR vs. Load Current is shown in the
Typical Operating Characteristics
.
Use a 0.01µF bypass capacitor at BP for low output voltage noise. Increasing the capacitance will slightly
decrease the output noise, but increase the start-up time.
Values above 0.1µF provide no performance advantage
and are not recommended (see Shutdown Exit Delay
graphs in the
Typical Operating Characteristics
).
PSRR and Operation from
Sources Other than Batteries
The MAX8877/MAX8878 are designed to deliver low
dropout voltages and low quiescent currents in batterypowered systems. Power-supply rejection is 63dB at
low frequencies and rolls off above 10kHz. See the
Power-Supply Rejection Ratio Frequency graph in the
Typical Operating Characteristics
.
When operating from sources other than batteries,
improved supply-noise rejection and transient response
can be achieved by increasing the values of the input
and output bypass capacitors, and through passive filtering techniques. The
Typical Operating Charac-
teristics
show the MAX8877/MAX8878’s line- and load-
transient responses.
Load-Transient Considerations
The MAX8877/MAX8878 load-transient response
graphs (see
Typical Operating Characteristics
) show
two components of the output response: a DC shift
from the output impedance due to the load current
change, and the transient response. Typical transient
MAX8877/MAX8878
Low-Noise, Low-Dropout, 150mA Linear
Regulators with ‘2982 Pinout
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