ST AN836 APPLICATION NOTE
AN836
APPLICATION NOTE
LOW FORWARD VOLTAGE SCHOTTKY DIODE
INTRODUCTION
In power supplies, the major portion of power losses is due to output rectifiers. The impact of these losses
on the efficiency can be expressed by:
IOUT()
V
η
η :efficiency drop due to the diodes.
V
V
This formula shows that the influence of the forward voltage increases when the output voltage of the power supply decreases.
This parameter becomes very important for the new standard of 3.3V output voltage. Another key parameter is the leakage current which we have to take into account to develop high efficiency low forward voltage drop Schottky with the best trade-off.
F
-------------------------- -=
V
OUT
F(IOUT)
OUT
:voltage drop at the output current
(IOUT) of the converter.
:output voltage of the converter.
TRADE-OFF
The 3 most important application characteristics of a Schottky are:
– forward voltage
– reverse leakage current
– reverse blocking voltage
Generally for a given application, the first step is to fix the reverse blocking voltage. We then study the
best trade-off (choice of a metal barrier) between the forward voltage and the leakage current.
A decrease of the forward voltage increases the efficiency of the converter but increases at the same time
the leakage current and limits operating range where we can keep the reverse losses under control. In the
datasheet this range is defined by Tj max.
To define the best trade off of a low forward voltage schottky we have to take into account its application
condition. STMicroelectronics has developed two families of low forward voltage Schottky well suitable to
two applications: the OR-ing Schottky and Schottky for 3.3V output power supply secondary.
SCHOTTKY DIODES FOR 3.3V SWITCHED MODE POWER SUPPLY
When a Schottky works in a switched mode power supply (forward, flyback,...), it sees during the same
switching period conduction losses and reverse losses.
In these configurations the trade-off between the forward voltage and the leakage current has to be chosen to have the best efficiency with a sufficient safety margin. This is to keep the reverse losses under
control (Tj max = 125°C).
REV. 2
1/5May 2004
AN836 APPLICATION NOTE
Table 1. Main Characteristics of Schottky
V
PART NUMBER PACKAGE Io
typ Max Max
AmVmVmA
STPS125U SOD6 1
390
(1)
STPS5L25B DPAK 5 310 350 175
STPS10L25D TO220AC 10 300 350 400
STPS15L25D/G D2PAK/TO220AC 15 300 350 640
STPS20L25CT TO220AB 2x10 300 350 400
STPS20L25CG D2PAK 2x10 300 350 400
Note: 1. Main characteristics of the 25V low VF Schottky
OR-ING SCHOTTKY
To increase system reliability, power supplies are sometimes connected in parallel (Fig.1).
Figure 1. OR-ing Schottky in redundant power supply
F
(Io,125°C)
460
(125°C, 25V)
(1)
I
R
(1)
2
POWER
SUPPLY
1
POWER
SUPPLY
2
POWER
SUPPLY
n
I
OUT/n
I
OUT/n
I
OUT/n
I
OUT
V
OUT
3.3V, 5V or 12V
The Schottky diodes are connected in series with the output of each power supply. In the steady state a
continuous current (I
T/n) flows in each Schottky. Obviously in this case there are no reverse losses.
OU
When a power supply fails, the corresponding ORING diodes ceases to carry current and the system output voltage is not disturbed. The OR-ing diode then sees the reverse voltage V
OUT
.
In this application the most critical parameter is the forward voltage drop in order to maintain the best efficiency of the system. A breakdown voltage of 10V is sufficient for output voltage of 5V and 3.3.V.
The trade-off has been chosen to obtain a low forward voltage. In this application we can accept a high
leakage current because when the diode is blocked the reapplied voltage is low (3.3V or 5V), the junction
temperature is also low because there are only reverse losses. So it’s easy to keep reverse losses under
control.
2/5
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