LM3478 High Efficiency Low-Side N-Channel Controller for Switching Regulator

September 2001

LM3478 High Efficiency Low-Side N-Channel Controller for Switching Regulator

General Description
The LM3478 is a versatile Low-Side N-FET switching regulator controller. It is suitable for use in topologies requiring low side FET, such as boost, flyback, SEPIC, etc. Moreover, the LM3478 can be operated at extremely high switching frequency in order to reduce the overall solution size. The switching frequency of LM3478 can be adjusted to any value between 100kHz and 1MHz by using a single external resistor. Current mode control provides superior bandwidth and transient response, besides cycle-by-cycle current limiting. Output current can be programmed with a single external resistor. The LM3478 has built in features such as thermal shutdown, short-circuit protection, over voltage protection, etc. Power saving shutdown mode reduces the total supply current to 5A and allows power supply sequencing. Internal soft-start limits the inrush current at start-up. n 2.5% (over temperature) internal reference n 10A shutdown current (over temperature)

Features
8-lead Mini-SO8 (MSOP-8) package Internal push-pull driver with 1A peak current capability Current limit and thermal shutdown Frequency compensation optimized with a capacitor and a resistor n Internal softstart n Current Mode Operation n Undervoltage Lockout with hysteresis n n n n

Applications
n n n n n Distributed Power Systems Battery Chargers Offline Power Supplies Telecom Power Supplies Automotive Power Systems

Key Specifications
n Wide supply voltage range of 2.95V to 40V n 100kHz to 1MHz Adjustable clock frequency

Typical Application Circuit

10135501

Typical High Efficiency Step-Up (Boost) Converter

2001 National Semiconductor Corporation

DS101355

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LM3478

Connection Diagram

10135502

8 Lead Mini SO8 Package (MSOP-8 Package)

Package Marking and Ordering Information

Order Number LM3478MM LM3478MMX Package Type MSOP-8 MSOP-8 Package Marking S14B S14B Supplied As: 1000 units on Tape and Reel 3500 units on Tape and Reel

Pin Description
Pin Name ISEN COMP FB AGND PGND DR FA/SD Pin Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Description Current sense input pin. Voltage generated across an external sense resistor is fed into this pin. Compensation pin. A resistor, capacitor combination connected to this pin provides compensation for the control loop. Feedback pin. The output voltage should be adjusted using a resistor divider to provide 1.26V at this pin. Analog ground pin. Power ground pin. Drive pin of the IC. The gate of the external MOSFET should be connected to this pin. Frequency adjust and Shutdown pin. A resistor connected to this pin sets the oscillator frequency. A high level on this pin for 30s will turn the device off. The device will then draw less than 10A from the supply. Power Supply Input pin.

VIN

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Absolute Maximum Ratings

(Note 1)

DR Pin Voltage ISEN Pin Voltage

0.4V VDR 8V 500mV

If Military/Aerospace specified devices are required, please contact the National Semiconductor Sales Office/ Distributors for availability and specifications. Input Voltage Peak Driver Output Current ( < 10s) Power Dissipation Storage Temperature Range Junction Temperature ESD Susceptibilty Human Body Model (Note 2) Lead Temperature MM Package Vapor Phase (60 sec.) Infared (15 sec.) 45V 1.0A Internally Limited 65C to +150C +150C 2kV

Operating Ratings (Note 1)

Supply Voltage Junction Temperature Range Switching Frequency 2.95V VIN 40V 40C TJ +125C 100kHz FSW 1MHz

215C 220C

Electrical Characteristics
Specifications in Standard type face are for TJ = 25C, and in bold type face apply over the full Operating Temperature Range. Unless otherwise specified, VIN = 12V, RFA = 40k Symbol VFB Parameter Feedback Voltage Conditions VCOMP = 1.4V, 2.95 VIN 40V 2.95 VIN 40V IEAO Source/Sink Typical 1.26 1.2416/1.228 1.2843/1.292 0.001 Limit Units V V(min) V(max) %/V %/V (max) V V(max) mV mV (min) mV (max) kHz kHz(min) kHz(max) V % nsec nsec(min) nsec(max) mA mA (max) A A (max) mV mV (min) mV (max)

VLINE VLOAD VUVLO VUV(HYS)

Feedback Voltage Line Regulation Output Voltage Load Regulation Input Undervoltage Lock-out Input Undervoltage Lock-out Hysteresis Nominal Switching Frequency Driver Switch On Resistance (top) Driver Switch On Resistance (bottom) Maximum Drive Voltage Swing(Note 6) Maximum Duty Cycle(Note 7) Minimum On Time

0.5
2.85 2.95 170 130 210

Fnom

RFA = 40K

400 360 430

RDS1 (ON) RDS2 (ON) VDR (max) Dmax Tmin (on)

IDR = 0.2A, VIN = 5V IDR = 0.2A VIN < 7.2V VIN 7.2V

16 4.5 VIN 7.2 100 325 210 600

ISUPPLY IQ VSENSE

Supply Current (switching) Quiescent Current in Shutdown Mode Current Sense Threshold Voltage

(Note 9) VFA/SYNC/SD = 5V (Note 10), VIN = 5V VIN = 5V

2.0 5

3.0 10

160 140/ 130 183/ 190

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Electrical Characteristics
Symbol VSC Parameter Short-Circuit Current Limit Sense Voltage Internal Compensation Ramp Voltage Output Over-voltage Protection (with respect to feedback voltage) (Note 8) Output Over-Voltage Protection Hysteresis(Note 8) Error Ampifier Transconductance Error Amplifier Voltage Gain Error Amplifier Output Current (Source/ Sink)

(Continued) Specifications in Standard type face are for TJ = 25C, and in bold type face apply over the full Operating Temperature Range. Unless otherwise specified, VIN = 12V, RFA = 40k Conditions VIN = 5V Typical 325 245 385 VIN = 5V 83 60 105 VCOMP = 1.4V 60 41/ 35 64/ 85 VCOMP = 1.4V 60 40 95 VCOMP = 1.4V IEAO = 100A (Source/Sink) VCOMP = 1.4V IEAO = 100A (Source/Sink) Source, VCOMP = 1.4V, VFB = 0V Sink, VCOMP = 1.4V, VFB = 1.4V 800 600/ 365 1000/ 1265 Limit Units mV mV (min) mV (max) mV mV(min) mV(max) mV mV(min) mV(max) mV mV(min) mV(max) mho mho (min) mho (max) V/V V/V (min) V/V (max) A A (min) A (max) A A (min) A (max) V V(min) V(max) V V(min) V(max) msec ns ns V V (max) V V (min) A C C C/W

VSL

VOVP

VOVP(HYS)

Gm

AVOL

38 26 42 110 80/ 50 140/ 180 140 100/ 85 180/ 185 2.2 1.8 2.4 0.56 0.2 1.0 4 25 25 1.27 1.33 0.65 0.35 1 +1 165 10

IEAO

VEAO

Error Amplifier Output Voltage Swing

Upper Limit VFB = 0V COMP Pin = Floating Lower Limit VFB = 1.4V

TSS Tr Tf VSD

Internal Soft-Start Delay Drive Pin Rise Time Drive Pin Fall Time Shutdown threshold (Note 5)

VFB = 1.2V, VCOMP = Floating Cgs = 3000pf, VDR = 0 to 3V Cgs = 3000pf, VDR = 0 to 3V Output = High Output = Low

ISD TSD Tsh JA

Shutdown Pin Current Thermal Shutdown Thermal Shutdown Hysteresis Thermal Resistance

VSD = 5V VSD = 0V

MM Package

200

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LM3478

Electrical Characteristics

(Continued)

Note 1: Absolute Maximum Ratings are limits beyond which damage to the device may occur. Operating Ratings are conditions under which operation of the device is intended to be functional. For guaranteed specifications and test conditions, see the Electrical Characteristics. Note 2: The human body model is a 100 pF capacitor discharged through a 1.5k resistor into each pin. Note 3: All limits are guaranteed at room temperature (standard type face) and at temperature extremes (bold type face). All room temperature limits are 100% tested. All limits at temperature extremes are guaranteed via correlation using standard Statistical Quality Control (SQC) methods. All limits are used to calculate Average Outgoing Quality Level (AOQL). Note 4: Typical numbers are at 25C and represent the most likely norm. Note 5: The FA/SD pin should be pulled to VIN through a resistor to turn the regulator off. The voltage on the FA/SD pin must be above the maximum limit for Output = High to keep the regulator off and must be below the limit for Output = Low to keep the regulator on. Note 6: The voltage on the drive pin, VDR is equal to the input voltage when input voltage is less than 7.2V. VDR is equal to 7.2V when the input voltage is greater than or equal to 7.2V. Note 7: The limits for the maximum duty cycle can not be specified since the part does not permit less than 100% maximum duty cycle operation. Note 8: The over-voltage protection is specified with respect to the feedback voltage. This is because the over-voltage protection tracks the feedback voltage. The overvoltage protection threshold is given by adding the feedback voltage, VFB to the over-voltage protection specification. Note 9: For this test, the FA/SD pin is pulled to ground using a 40K resistor. Note 10: For this test, the FA/SD pin is pulled to 5V using a 40K resistor.

Typical Performance Characteristics

IQ vs Input Voltage (Shutdown)

Unless otherwise specified, VIN = 12V, TJ = 25C. ISupply vs Input Voltage (Non-Switching)

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ISupply vs VIN (Switching)

Switching Frequency vs RFA

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LM3478

Typical Performance Characteristics

25C. (Continued) Frequency vs Temperature

Unless otherwise specified, VIN = 12V, TJ =

Drive Voltage vs Input Voltage

10135554

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Current Sense Threshold vs Input Voltage

COMP Pin Voltage vs Load Current

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10135562

Efficiency vs Load Current (3.3V In and 12V Out)

Efficiency vs Load Current (5V In and 12V Out)

10135559

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LM3478

Typical Performance Characteristics

25C. (Continued) Efficiency vs Load Current (9V In and 12V Out)

Unless otherwise specified, VIN = 12V, TJ =

Efficiency vs Load Current (3.3V In and 5V Out

10135560

10135553

Error Amplifier Gain

Error Amplifier Phase

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COMP Pin Source Current vs Temperature

Short Circuit Sense Voltage vs Input Voltage

10135557 10135536

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LM3478

Typical Performance Characteristics

25C. (Continued) Compensation Ramp vs Compensation Resistor

Unless otherwise specified, VIN = 12V, TJ =

Shutdown Threshold Hysteresis vs Temperature

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Duty Cycle vs Current Sense Voltage

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Functional Block Diagram

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Functional Description
The LM3478 uses a fixed frequency, Pulse Width Modulated (PWM), current mode control architecture. In a typical application circuit, the peak current through the external MOSFET is sensed through an external sense resistor. The voltage across this resistor is fed into the ISEN pin. This voltage is then level shifted and fed into the positive input of the PWM comparator. The output voltage is also sensed through an external feedback resistor divider network and fed into the error amplifier negative input (feedback pin, FB). The output of the error amplifier (COMP pin) is added to the slope compensation ramp and fed into the negative input of the PWM comparator. At the start of any switching cycle, the oscillator sets the RS latch using the SET/Blank-out and switch logic blocks. This forces a high signal on the DR pin (gate of the external MOSFET) and the external MOSFET turns on. When the voltage on the positive input of the PWM comparator exceeds the negative input, the RS latch is reset and the external MOSFET turns off.

The voltage sensed across the sense resistor generally contains spurious noise spikes, as shown in Figure 1. These spikes can force the PWM comparator to reset the RS latch prematurely. To prevent these spikes from resetting the latch, a blank-out circuit inside the IC prevents the PWM comparator from resetting the latch for a short duration after the latch is set. This duration is about 150ns and is called the blank-out time. Under extremely light load or no-load conditions, the energy delivered to the output capacitor when the external MOSFET is on during the blank-out time is more than what is delivered to the load. An over-voltage comparator inside the LM3478 prevents the output voltage from rising under these conditions. The over-voltage comparator senses the feedback (FB pin) voltage and resets the RS latch under these conditions. The latch remains in reset state till the output decays to the nominal value.

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LM3478

Functional Description

(Continued)

10135507

FIGURE 1. Basic Operation of the PWM comparator Slope Compensation Ramp The LM3478 uses a current mode control scheme. The main advantages of current mode control are inherent cycle-by-cycle current limit for the switch, and simpler control loop characteristics. It is also easy to parallel power stages using current mode control since current sharing is automatic. Current mode control has an inherent instability for duty cycles greater than 50%, as shown in Figure 2. In Figure 2, a small increase in the load current causes the switch current to increase by IO. The effect of this load change, I1, is : From the above equation, when D > 0.5, I1 will be greater than IO. In other words, the disturbance is divergent. So a very small perturbation in the load will cause the disturbance to increase. To prevent the sub-harmonic oscillations, a compensation ramp is added to the control signal, as shown in Figure 3. With the compensation ramp,

10135509

FIGURE 2. Sub-Harmonic Oscillation for D > 0.5

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Functional Description

(Continued)

10135511

FIGURE 3. Compensation Ramp Avoids Sub-Harmonic Oscillation The compensation ramp has been added internally in LM3478. The slope of this compensation ramp has been selected to satisfy most of the applications. The slope of the internal compensation ramp depends on the frequency. This slope can be calculated using the formula: MC = VSL.FS Volts/second In the above equation, VSL is the amplitude of the internal compensation ramp. Limits for VSL have been specified in the electrical characteristics. In order to provide the user additional flexibility, a patented scheme has been implemented inside the IC to increase the slope of the compensation ramp externally, if the need arises. Adding a single external resistor, RSL(as shown in Figure 4) increases the slope of the compensation ramp, MC by :

In this equation, VSL is equal to 40.10-6RSL. Hence,

VSL versus RSL has been plotted in Figure 5 for different frequencies.

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LM3478

Functional Description

(Continued)

10135513

FIGURE 4. Increasing the Slope of the Compensation Ramp

10135551

FIGURE 5. VSL vs RSL Frequency Adjust/Shutdown The switching frequency of LM3478 can be adjusted between 100kHz and 1MHz using a single external resistor. This resistor must be connected between FA/SD pin and ground, as shown in Figure 6. Please refer to the typical performance characteristics to determine the value of the resistor required for a desired switching frequency. The FA/SD pin also functions as a shutdown pin. If a high signal (refer to the electrical characteristics for definition of high signal) appears on the FA/SD pin, the LM3478 stops switching and goes into a low current mode. The total supply current of the IC reduces to less than 10 A under these conditions.

Figure 7 shows implementation of shutdown function when operating in frequency adjust mode. In frequency adjust mode, connecting the FA/SD pin to ground forces the clock to run at a certain frequency. Pulling this pin high shuts down the IC. In frequency adjust mode, a high signal for more than 30s shuts down the IC.

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LM3478

Functional Description

(Continued)

10135514

FIGURE 6. Frequency Adjust

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FIGURE 7. Shutdown Operation in Frequency Adjust Mode Short-Circuit Protection When the voltage across the sense resistor (measured on ISEN Pin) exceeds 350mV, short-circuit current limit gets activated. A comparator inside LM3478 reduces the switching frequency by a factor of 5 and maintains this condition till the short is removed. In the second cycle, MOSFET Q is off and the diode is forward biased. The energy stored in the inductor is transferred to the load and output capacitor. The ratio of these two cycles determines the output voltage. The output voltage is defined as:

Typical Applications
The LM3478 may be operated in either continuous or discontinuous conduction mode. The following applications are designed for continuous conduction operation. This mode of operation has higher efficiency and lower EMI characteristics than the discontinuous mode. Boost Converter The most common topology for LM3478 is the boost or step-up topology. The boost converter converts a low input voltage into a higher output voltage. The basic configuration for a boost regulator is shown in Figure 8. In continuous conduction mode (when the inductor current never reaches zero at steady state), the boost regulator operates in two cycles. In the first cycle of operation, MOSFET Q is turned on and energy is stored in the inductor. During this cycle, diode D is reverse biased and load current is supplied by the output capacitor, COUT. (ignoring the drop across the MOSFET and the diode), or

where D is the duty cycle of the switch, VD is the forward voltage drop of the diode, and VQ is the drop across the MOSFET when it is on. The following sections describe selection of components for a boost converter

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LM3478

Typical Applications

(Continued)

10135522

FIGURE 8. Simplified Boost Converter Diagram (a) First cycle of operation. (b) Second cycle of operation Power Inductor Selection The inductor is one of the two energy storage elements in a boost converter. Figure 9 shows how the inductor current varies during a switching cycle. The current through an inductor is quantified as:

10135524

FIGURE 9. A. Inductor current B. Diode current

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LM3478

Typical Applications

(Continued)

Programming the Output Voltage and Output Current The output voltage can be programmed using a resistor divider between the output and the feedback pins, as shown in Figure 10. The resistors are selected such that the voltage at the feedback pin is 1.26V. RF1 and RF2 can be selected using the equation,

If VL(t) is constant, diL(t)/dt must be constant. Hence, for a given input voltage and output voltage, the current in the inductor changes at a constant rate. The important quantities in determining a proper inductance value are IL (the average inductor current) and iL (the inductor current ripple). If iL is larger than IL, the inductor current will drop to zero for a portion of the cycle and the converter will operate in discontinuous conduction mode. If iL is smaller than IL, the inductor current will stay above zero and the converter will operate in continuous conduction mode. All the analysis in this datasheet assumes operation in continuous conduction mode. To operate in continuous conduction mode, the following conditions must be met: IL > iL

A 100pF capacitor may be connected between the feedback and ground pins to reduce noise. The maximum amount of current that can be delivered at the output can be controlled by the sense resistor, RSEN. Current limit occurs when the voltage that is generated across the sense resistor equals the current sense threshold voltage, VSENSE. Limits for VSENSE have been specified in the electrical characteristics. This can be expressed as: Isw(peak) * RSEN = VSENSE VSENSE represents the maximum value of the control signal as shown in Figure 2. This control signal, however, is not a constant value and changes over the course of a period as a result of the internal compensation ramp (see Figure 3). Therefore the current limit will also change as a result of the internal compensation ramp. The actual command signal, VCS, can be better expressed as a function of the sense voltage and the internal compensation ramp: VCS = VSENSE (D * VSL) VSL is defined as the internal compensation ramp voltage, limits are specified in the electrical characteristics. The peak current through the switch is equal to the peak inductor current. Isw(peak) = IL + iL Therefore for a boost converter

Choose the minimum IOUT to determine the minimum L. A common choice is to set iL to 30% of IL. Choosing an appropriate core size for the inductor involves calculating the average and peak currents expected through the inductor. In a boost converter,

and IL_peak = IL(max) + iL(max), where

Combining the three equation yields an expression for RSEN A core size with ratings higher than these values should be chosen. If the core is not properly rated, saturation will dramatically reduce overall efficiency. The LM3478 can be set to switch at very high frequencies. When the switching frequency is high, the converter can be operated with very small inductor values. With a small inductor value, the peak inductor current can be higher than the output currents, especially under light load conditions. The LM3478 senses the peak current through the switch. The peak current through the switch is the same as the peak current calculated above.

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LM3478

Typical Applications

(Continued)

10135520

FIGURE 10. Adjusting the Output Voltage Current Limit with Additional Slope Compensation If an external slope compensation resistor is used (see Figure 4) the internal control signal will be modified and this will have an effect on the current limit. The control signal is given by: VCS = VSENSE (D * VSL) Where VSENSE and VSL are defined parameters in the electrical characteristics section. If RSL is used, then this will add to the existing slope compensation. The command voltage will then be given by: VCS = VSENSE (D * ( VSL + VSL) ) Where VSL is the additional slope compensation generated and can be calculated by use of Figure 5 or is equal to 40 x 106 * RSL. This changes the equation for RSEN to: The peak reverse voltage for boost converter is equal to the regulator output voltage. The diode must be capable of handling this voltage. To improve efficiency, a low forward drop schottky diode is recommended. Power MOSFET Selection The drive pin of LM3478 must be connected to the gate of an external MOSFET. In a boost topology, the drain of the external N-Channel MOSFET is connected to the inductor and the source is connected to the ground. The drive pin (DR) voltage depends on the input voltage (see typical performance characteristics). In most applications, a logic level MOSFET can be used. For very low input voltages, a sub-logic level MOSFET should be used. The selected MOSFET directly controls the efficiency. The critical parameters for selection of a MOSFET are: 1. Minimum threshold voltage, VTH(MIN) 2. 3. 4. Therefore RSL can be used to provide an additional method for setting the current limit. Power Diode Selection Observation of the boost converter circuit shows that the average current through the diode is the average load current, and the peak current through the diode is the peak current through the inductor. The diode should be rated to handle more than its peak current. The peak diode current can be calculated using the formula: ID(Peak) = IOUT/ (1D) + IL In the above equation, IOUT is the output current and IL has been defined in Figure 9.
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On-resistance, RDS(ON) Total gate charge, Qg Reverse transfer capacitance, CRSS Maximum drain to source voltage, VDS(MAX)

5.

The off-state voltage of the MOSFET is approximately equal to the output voltage. VDS(MAX) of the MOSFET must be greater than the output voltage. The power losses in the MOSFET can be categorized into conduction losses and ac switching or transition losses. RDS(ON) is needed to estimate the conduction losses. The conduction loss, PCOND, is the I2R loss across the MOSFET. The maximum conduction loss is given by:

LM3478

Typical Applications

(Continued)

where DMAX is the maximum duty cycle.

The turn-on and turn-off transitions of a MOSFET require times of tens of nano-seconds. CRSS and Qg are needed to estimate the large instantaneous power loss that occurs during these transitions. The amount of gate current required to turn the MOSFET on can be calculated using the formula: IG = Qg.FS The required gate drive power to turn the MOSFET on is equal to the switching frequency times the energy required to deliver the charge to bring the gate charge voltage to VDR (see electrical characteristics and typical performance characteristics for the drive voltage specification). PDrive = FS.Qg.VDR Input Capacitor Selection Due to the presence of an inductor at the input of a boost converter, the input current waveform is continuous and triangular, as shown in Figure 9. The inductor ensures that the input capacitor sees fairly low ripple currents. However, as the input capacitor gets smaller, the input ripple goes up. The rms current in the input capacitor is given by:

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FIGURE 11. Reducing IC Input Noise Output Capacitor Selection The output capacitor in a boost converter provides all the output current when the inductor is charging. As a result it sees very large ripple currents. The output capacitor should be capable of handling the maximum rms current. The rms current in the output capacitor is:

Where

The input capacitor should be capable of handling the rms current. Although the input capacitor is not as critical in a boost application, low values can cause impedance interactions. Therefore a good quality capacitor should be chosen in the range of 100F to 200F. If a value lower than 100F is used than problems with impedance interactions or switching noise can affect the LM3478. To improve performance, especially with VIN below 8 volts, it is recommended to use a 20 resistor at the input to provide a RC filter. The resistor is placed in series with the VIN pin with only a bypass capacitor attached to the VIN pin directly (see Figure 11). A 0.1F or 1F ceramic capacitor is necessary in this configuration. The bulk input capacitor and inductor will connect on the other side of the resistor with the input power supply.

and D, the duty cycle is equal to (VOUT VIN)/VOUT. The ESR and ESL of the output capacitor directly control the output ripple. Use capacitors with low ESR and ESL at the output for high efficiency and low ripple voltage. Surface Mount tantalums, surface mount polymer electrolytic and polymer tantalum, Sanyo- OSCON, or multi-layer ceramic capacitors are recommended at the output.

Designing SEPIC Using LM3478

Since the LM3478 controls a low-side N-Channel MOSFET, it can also be used in SEPIC (Single Ended Primary Inductance Converter) applications. An example of SEPIC using LM3478 is shown in Figure 12. As shown in Figure 12, the output voltage can be higher or lower than the input voltage. The SEPIC uses two inductors to step-up or step-down the input voltage. The inductors L1 and L2 can be two discrete inductors or two windings of a coupled transformer since equal voltages are applied across the inductor throughout the switching cycle. Using two discrete inductors allows use of catalog magnetics, as opposed to a custom transformer. The input ripple can be reduced along with size by using the coupled windings of transformer for L1 and L2. Due to the presence of the inductor L1 at the input, the SEPIC inherits all the benefits of a boost converter. One main advantage of SEPIC over boost converter is the inherent input to output isolation. The capacitor CS isolates the input from the output and provides protection against shorted or malfunctioning load. Hence, the A SEPIC is useful for replacing boost circuits when true shutdown is required. This means that the output voltage falls to 0V when the switch is turned off. In a boost converter, the output can only fall to the input voltage minus a diode drop.

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LM3478

Designing SEPIC Using LM3478

(Continued) The duty cycle of a SEPIC is given by:

In the above equation, VQ is the on-state voltage of the MOSFET, Q, and VDIODE is the forward voltage drop of the diode.

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FIGURE 12. Typical SEPIC Converter Power MOSFET Selection As in boost converter, the parameters governing the selection of the MOSFET are the minimum threshold voltage, VTH(MIN), the on-resistance, RDS(ON), the total gate charge, Qg, the reverse transfer capacitance, CRSS, and the maximum drain to source voltage, VDS(MAX). The peak switch voltage in a SEPIC is given by: VSW(PEAK) = VIN + VOUT + VDIODE The selected MOSFET should satisfy the condition: VDS(MAX) > VSW(PEAK) The peak switch current is given by: Selection of Inductors L1 and L2 Proper selection of the inductors L1 and L2 to maintain constant current mode requires calculations of the following parameters. Average current in the inductors:

IL2AVE = IOUT Peak to peak ripple current, to calculate core loss if necessary:

The rms current through the switch is given by:

Power Diode Selection The Power diode must be selected to handle the peak current and the peak reverse voltage. In a SEPIC, the diode peak current is the same as the switch peak current. The off-state voltage or peak reverse voltage of the diode is VIN + VOUT. Similar to the boost converter, the average diode current is equal to the output current. Schottky diodes are recommended.

Maintaining the condition IL > iL to ensure constant current mode yields:

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Designing SEPIC Using LM3478

(Continued) Peak current in the inductor, to ensure the inductor does not saturate:

the size required to meet the rms current rating can be accommodated. There is an energy balance between CS and L1, which can be used to determine the value of the capacitor. The basic energy balance equation is:

Where

IL1PK must be lower than the maximum current rating set by the current sense resistor. The value of L1 can be increased above the minimum recommended to reduce input ripple and output ripple. However, once DIL1 is less than 20% of IL1AVE, the benefit to output ripple is minimal. By increasing the value of L2 above the minimum recommended, IL2 can be reduced, which in turn will reduce the output ripple voltage:

is the ripple voltage across the SEPIC capacitor, and

is the ripple current through the inductor L1. The energy balance equation can be solved to provide a minimum value for CS:

where ESR is the effective series resistance of the output capacitor. If L1 and L2 are wound on the same core, then L1 = L2 = L. All the equations above will hold true if the inductance is replaced by 2L. A good choice for transformer with equal turns is Coiltronics CTX series Octopack. Sense Resistor Selection The peak current through the switch, ISW(PEAK) can be adjusted using the current sense resistor, RSEN, to provide a certain output current. Resistor RSEN can be selected using the formula:

Input Capacitor Selection

Similar to a boost converter, the SEPIC has an inductor at the input. Hence, the input current waveform is continuous and triangular. The inductor ensures that the input capacitor sees fairly low ripple currents. However, as the input capacitor gets smaller, the input ripple goes up. The rms current in the input capacitor is given by:

SEPIC Capacitor selection

The selection of SEPIC capacitor, CS, depends on the rms current. The rms current of the SEPIC capacitor is given by:

The SEPIC capacitor must be rated for a large ACrms current relative to the output power. This property makes the SEPIC much better suited to lower power applications where the rms current through the capacitor is relatively small (relative to capacitor technology). The voltage rating of the SEPIC capacitor must be greater than the maximum input voltage. Tantalum capacitors are the best choice for SMT, having high rms current ratings relative to size. Ceramic capacitors could be used, but the low C values will tend to cause larger changes in voltage across the capacitor due to the large currents. High C value ceramics are expensive. Electrolytics work well for through hole applications where
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The input capacitor should be capable of handling the rms current. Although the input capacitor is not as critical in a boost application, low values can cause impedance interactions. Therefore a good quality capacitor should be chosen in the range of 100F to 200F. If a value lower than 100F is used than problems with impedance interactions or switching noise can affect the LM3478. To improve performance, especially with VIN below 8 volts, it is recommended to use a 20 resistor at the input to provide a RC filter. The resistor is placed in series with the VIN pin with only a bypass capacitor attached to the VIN pin directly (see Figure 11). A 0.1F or 1F ceramic capacitor is necessary in this configuration. The bulk input capacitor and inductor will connect on the other side of the resistor with the input power supply. Output Capacitor Selection The ESR and ESL of the output capacitor directly control the output ripple. Use low capacitors with low ESR and ESL at the output for high efficiency and low ripple voltage. Surface mount tantalums, surface mount polymer electrolytic and polymer tantalum, Sanyo- OSCON, or multi-layer ceramic capacitors are recommended at the output.

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Input Capacitor Selection

(Continued)

The output capacitor of the SEPIC sees very large ripple currents (similar to the output capacitor of a boost converter. The rms current through the output capacitor is given by:

The ESR and ESL of the output capacitor directly control the output ripple. Use low capacitors with low ESR and ESL at the output for high efficiency and low ripple voltage. Surface mount tantalums, surface mount polymer electrolytic and polymer tantalum, Sanyo- OSCON, or multi-layer ceramic capacitors are recommended at the output for low ripple.

Other Application Circuit

10135543

FIGURE 13. Typical Flyback Circuit

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20

LM3478 High Efficiency Low-Side N-Channel Controller for Switching Regulator

Physical Dimensions
unless otherwise noted

inches (millimeters)

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