AN2984
Application note
Minimizing the SET-related effects
on the output of a voltage linear regulator
Introduction
This application note deals with the effects of SET (single event transient) on the
RHFL4913A low-drop linear regulator. After a short description of the phenomenon, some
solutions for coping with these effects are introduced and discussed.
The RHFL4913A voltage regulator
The RHFL4913A is an adjustable high-performance positive voltage regulator with
exceptional radiation performance. It is tested in accordance with the Mil Std 883E method
1019.6, in ELDRS conditions. The device is available in the Flat-16 and the new SMD5C
hermetic ceramic package, as shown in
designed for space and harsh radiation environments. In Figure 2 the internal block diagram
is shown.
Figure 1, and the QML-V die is specifically
Figure 1. RHFL4913A packages
FLAT-16
SMD5C
5-connection SMD
June 2010 Doc ID 15690 Rev 1 1/8
www.st.com
Figure 2. Internal block diagram
AN2984
The RHFL4913A operates with an input supply of up to 12 V. To adjust the output voltage,
the R2 resistor must be connected between the V
and ADJ pins. The R1 resistor must be
O
connected between the ADJ and ground. Resistor values can be derived from the following
formula:
The V
VO = V
is 1.23 V, controlled by the internal temperature-compensated band-gap block.
ADJ
(R1 + R2) / R1
ADJ
The minimum output voltage is therefore 1.22 V and the minimum input voltage is 3 V. The
adjustable RHFL4913A is functional as soon as the (V
- VO) voltage difference is slightly
I
above the power element saturation voltage. The ADJ pin to ground resistor value must not
be greater than 10 kΩ, in order to keep the output feedback error below 0.2 %. A minimum of
0.5 mA I
current into the divider bridge resistor. All available V
must be set to ensure perfect no-load regulation. It is advisable to dissipate this
O
pins, as well as all available VO pins,
I
should always be externally interconnected, otherwise the stability and reliability of the
device cannot be guaranteed. The inhibit function switches off the output current
electronically, and therefore very quickly.
According to Lenz's Law, external circuitry reacts with Ldi/dt terms, which can be of high
amplitude where a serial coil inductance exists. Large transient voltage would develop on
both device terminals. It is advisable to protect the device with Schottky diodes to prevent
negative voltage excursions. In the worst case, a 14 V Zener diode can protect the device
input. The device has been designed for high stability and low dropout operation. Therefore,
tantalum input and output capacitors with a minimum 1 µF are mandatory. The ESR
capacitor range is from 0.01 Ω to over 20 Ω . This range is useful when ESR increases at a
low temperature. When large transient currents are expected, larger value capacitors are
necessary. In the case of high current operation with short circuit events expected, caution
must be exercised with regard to capacitors. They must be connected as close as possible
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AN2984
to the device terminals. As some tantalum capacitors may permanently fail when subjected
to high charge-up surge currents, it is recommended to decouple them with 470 nF
polyester capacitors.
As the RHFL4913A adjustable voltage regulator is manufactured with very high speed
bipolar technology (6 GHz f
transistors), the PCB layout must be designed with exceptional
T
care, with very low inductance and low mutually coupling lines. Otherwise, high frequency
parasitic signals may be picked up by the device resulting in system self-oscillation. The
benefit is an SVR performance extended to far higher frequencies.
In order to replace a standard 3-terminal industry device, fixed voltage versions are
available.
A separate Kelvin voltage sensing line provides the ADJ pin with exact load “high potential”
information. But variable remote load current consumption induces variable Iq current (Iq is
roughly the I
current divided by the hFE of the internal PNP series power element) routed
OUT
through the parasitic series line RW2 resistor. To compensate for this parasitic voltage, an
RW1 resistor can be introduced to provide the necessary compensating voltage signal to
the ADJ pin, as shown in
Figure 3. Application schematic for remote load operation
Figure 3.
In the case of an FPGA power supply, as these devices are very sensitive to VDD transients
beyond a small percentage of their nominal supply voltage (usually 1.5 V), special attention
must be taken to mitigate possible heavy-ion disturbances. The worst case heavy-ion effect
can be summarized as the following: the RHFL4913A internal control loop being cut
(opened) or short-circuited for a sub-microsecond duration. During such an event, the
RHFL4913A die power element can either provide excessive current or current supply
stoppage to the output (V
) for a duration of about one microsecond, after which time the
OUT
voltage regulator smoothly recovers to nominal operation. To mitigate these “transients”, it is
recommended to firstly implement the PCB layout using the following notes:
● Minimizing series/parallel parasitic inductances of the PC path;
● Using a low ESR 47 µF tantalum V
capacitor in parallel with the former (to reduce dynamic ESR);
filtering capacitor with a 470 nF ceramic
OUT
With this implementation, the ELDO simulated worst transient case shows no more than a
90 mV deviation from the nominal line voltage value.
Doc ID 15690 Rev 1 3/8
Mitigation technique for SET AN2984
1 Mitigation technique for SET
As we know, the characteristics of the voltage transient on the output of a voltage regulator,
consequent to the transfer of energy related to an ion strike with the silicon, is a critical issue
in space applications. Large undershoot can cause erratic operations in memories and
microprocessors, while overshoot of an excessive amplitude can lead to the degradation - or
even the destruction - of CMOS devices. For example, for most FPGA the recommended
operating voltage is 1.5 V with 1.6 V the maximum limit (in some applications it is restricted
to 1.575 V to maintain a further safety margin). The latter applies to both static and dynamic
operating conditions.
The recommendations in this application note are based on the outcomes of an
experimental analysis conducted at Texas A&M University (Cyclotron Single Event Effects
Test facility on device behavior in a heavy ion environment). For more information please
refer to “SEE test report V3.0 - Heavy Ion SEE test of RHFL4913A from STMicroelectronics
with SET mitigation circuitry”, issued by NASA on November 18th, 2006.
During these experiments, the configurations, illustrated in Figure 4 and Figure 5, were
found capable of reducing the SET transient's characteristics on the voltage regulator output
at a level acceptable for most critical applications, e.g. FPGA supply.
Figure 4. Baseline bias configuration with remote feedback
0.2 Ω
V
Adj
O
100nF
VIN
VI
RHFL4913A
15µF
100nF
0.1 Ω
+
C
220µF
OUT
R1
V
OUT
R2
_
AM07811v1
4/8 Doc ID 15690 Rev 1
AN2984 Mitigation technique for SET
Figure 5. Local feedback configuration
0.1 Ω
+
C
220µF
OUT
V
_
AM07812v1
VIN
0.2 Ω
15µF
100nF
V
I
RHFL4913A
VO
Adj
R1
100nF
R2
Each of the two options has its own advantages and drawbacks. In the scheme shown in
Figure 4, as the R resistor is located between the voltage regulation output and the output
voltage setting resistors, the regulation - especially with the load - is expected to be much
better and thus the output voltage more precise compared to the second option; the latter
option should have superior SET immunity.
For both configurations, the characteristics of the transients can be summarized as follows:
1. In many of the SETs observed, both short (< 100 nsec) and long-duration (max 2 sec)
pulses are present;
2. SET cross-section increases with the LET, as expected;
3. SETs associated to the highest LET are those with the longest transients (provided the
other conditions are the same);
4. Irrespective of the LET, at a fixed VIN = 3.3 V the max V
deviation measured is <
OUT
140 mV, using high-quality, low-ESR, low-ESL capacitors, (i.e., ceramic or tantalum);
higher (V
IN-VOUT
) dropout increases the max V
excursion;
OUT
5. The short-duration pulses are mostly dependent on the ESL of the capacitors used,
and also dependent on the stray inductances. Therefore, they cannot be suppressed by
simply increasing the cap value. The only way to minimize them is with an action at
board level.
6. In the scheme of Figure 4, all long-duration pulses can be suppressed by adding a
capacitor of at least 60 µF before the filter.
Even the SET cross-section is limited, at least for LET up to 53 Mev*cm²/mg, as shown in
Figure 6.
Doc ID 15690 Rev 1 5/8
Mitigation technique for SET AN2984
Figure 6. SET cross-section vs. LET diagram
RHFL4913A+filterandotherSETmitigationRHFL4913A+filterandotherSETmitigation
As can be seen, the best solution recommended in critical applications is the one given in
Figure 4, with an additional capacitor of at least 60 µF connected before the RC filter.
Finally, some additional recommendations in order to minimize the output voltage glitches:
a) Use low ESR (< 30 mΩ), low ESL (10 - 20 nH) ceramic capacitors or others rated
for high speed applications.
b) ESL can be reduced using an array of parallel capacitors.
c) GND: implement star bus topology or a plane.
d) C
as close to VIN - GND pads as possible.
IN
e) A 10 nF cap between OUT and ADJ runs as an effective noise filter and improves
stability; it is essential in remote sensing configuration.
In conclusion, most SETs can be mitigated by means of external components: input and
output resistors, output series Schottky diodes, and RC filters, resulting in greatly reduced
SET sensitivity and remaining SETs with small amplitude (below 200 mV) and short
duration (< 20 ns).
6/8 Doc ID 15690 Rev 1
AN2984 Revision history
2 Revision history
Table 1. Document revision history
Date Revision Changes
23-Jun-2010 1 Initial release.
Doc ID 15690 Rev 1 7/8
AN2984
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