6
LTC1159
LTC1159-3.3/LTC1159-5
Internal divider broken at V
FB
for adjustable versions.
–
+
N-GATE
P-DRIVE
V
CC
550k
P-GATE
PGND
550k
CAP
LOW DROP SWITCH
V
CC
EXTV
CC
SHDN2
V
IN
–
+
–
+
SENSE
+
V
R
S
Q
V
TH1
–
+
25mV TO 150mV
13k
G
REFERENCE
1.25V
SGND
I
TH
C
V
OS
SENSE
–
LTC1159 • FD
SHDN1
–
+
T
V
TH2
S
SLEEP
C
T
V
FB
OFF-TIME
CONTROL
SENSE
–
LOW DROPOUT
4.5V REGULATOR
100k
FU CTIO AL DIAGRA
U
U
W
The LTC1159 uses a current mode, constant off-time
architecture to synchronously switch an external pair of
complementary power MOSFETs. Operating frequency is
set by an external capacitor at the C
T
pin.
The output voltage is sensed either by an internal voltage
divider connected to the SENSE
–
pin (LTC1159-3.3 and
LTC1159-5) or an external divider returned to the V
FB
pin
(LTC1159). A voltage comparator V, and a gain block G,
compare the divided output voltage with a reference volt-
age of 1.25V. To optimize efficiency, the LTC1159 auto-
matically switches between two modes of operation, burst
and continuous.
A low dropout 4.5V regulator provides the operating volt-
age V
CC
for the MOSFET drivers and control circuitry during
start-up. During normal operation, the LTC1159 family
powers the drivers and control from the output via the
EXTV
CC
pin to improve efficiency. The N-GATE pin is
referenced to ground and drives the N-channel MOSFET
gate directly. The P-channel gate drive must be referenced
to the main supply input V
IN
, which is accomplished by
level-shifting the P-drive signal via an internal 550k resistor
and external capacitor.
During the switch “ON” cycle in continuous mode, current
comparator C monitors the voltage between the SENSE
+
and SENSE
–
pins connected across an external shunt in
series with the inductor. When the voltage across the shunt
reaches its threshold value, the P-gate output is switched
to V
IN
, turning off the P-channel MOSFET. The timing
capacitor C
T
is now allowed to discharge at a rate deter-
mined by the off-time controller. The discharge current is
made proportional to the output voltage to model the
inductor current, which decays at a rate which is also
proportional to the output voltage. While the timing
capacitor is discharging, the N-gate output is high, turning
on the N-channel MOSFET.
When the voltage on C
T
has discharged past V
TH1
, compara-
tor T trips, setting the flip-flop. This causes the N-gate output
to go low (turning off the N-channel MOSFET) and the P-
gate output to also go low (turning the P-channel MOSFET
back on). The cycle then repeats. As the load current
(Refer to Functional Diagram)
OPERATIO
U