LT3995
17
3995f
For more information www.linear.com/LT3995
robust for a wide input voltage range. A diode with even
higher current rating can be selected for the worst-case
scenario of overload, where the max diode current can then
increase to the typical peak switch current. Short circuit is
not the worst-case condition due to current limit foldback.
Peak reverse voltage is equal to the regulator input voltage.
For inputs up to 60V, a 60V diode is adequate.
An additional consideration is reverse leakage current.
When the catch diode is reversed biased, any leakage
current will appear as load current. When operating under
light load conditions, the low supply current consumed
by the LT3995 will be optimized by using a catch diode
with minimum reverse leakage current. Low leakage
Schottky diodes often have larger forward voltage drops
at a given current, so a trade-off can exist between low
load and high load efficiency. Often Schottky diodes with
larger reverse bias ratings will have less leakage at a given
output voltage than a diode with a smaller reverse bias
rating. Therefore, superior leakage performance can be
achieved at the expense of diode size. Table 4 lists several
Schottky diodes and their manufacturers.
BOOST and OUT Pin Considerations
Capacitor C3 and the internal boost Schottky diode (see the
Block Diagram) are used to generate a boost voltage that
is higher than the input voltage. In most cases a 0.47μF
capacitor will work well. The BOOST pin must be more
than 1.8V above the SW pin for best efficiency and more
than 2.6V above the SW pin to allow the LT3995 to skip
off times to achieve very high duty cycles. For outputs
between 3.2V and 16V, the standard circuit with the OUT
pin connected to the output (Figure 4a) is best. Below 3.2V
the internal Schottky diode may not be able to sufficiently
charge the boost capacitor. Above 16V, the OUT pin abs
max is violated. For outputs between 2.5V and 3.2V, an
external Schottky diode to the output is sufficient because
an external Schottky will have much lower forward voltage
drop than the internal boost diode.
APPLICATIONS INFORMATION
Table 4. Schottky Diodes. The Reverse Current Values Listed
Are Estimates Based Off of Typical Curves for Reverse Current
vs Reverse Voltage at 25°C
PART NUMBER V
R
(V) I
AVE
(A)
V
F
at 3A
TYP 25°C
(mV)
V
F
at
3A MAX
25°C
(mV)
I
R
at
V
R
= 20V
25°C
(µA)
PDS360 60 3 570 620 0.45
PDS560 60 5 540 0.9
B360A 60 3 600 700 50
SBR3U60P1 60 3 580 650 1.7
For output voltages less than 2.5V, there are two options.
An external Schottky diode can charge the boost capaci-
tor from the input (Figure 4c) or from an external voltage
source (Figure 4d). Using an external voltage source is the
better option because it is more efficient than charging the
boost capacitor from the input. However, such a voltage
rail is not always available in all systems. For output volt-
ages greater than 16V, an external Schottky diode from
an external voltage source should be used to charge the
boost capacitor (Figure 4e). In applications using an ex-
ternal voltage source, the supply should be between 3.1V
and 16V. When using the input, the input voltage may not
exceed 30V. In all cases, the maximum voltage rating of
the BOOST pin must not be exceeded.
When the output is above 16V, the OUT pin can not be tied
to the output or the OUT pin abs max will be violated. It
should instead be tied to GND (Figure 4e). This is to pre-
vent the dropout circuitry from interfering with switching
behavior and to prevent the 100mA active pull-down from
drawing power. It is important to note that when the output
is above 16V and the OUT pin is grounded, the dropout
circuitry is not connected, so the minimum dropout will
be about 1.5V, rather than 500mV. If the output is less than
3.2V and an external Schottky is used to charge the boost
capacitor, the OUT pin should still be tied to the output
even though the minimum input voltage of the LT3995 will
be limited by the 4.3V minimum rather than the minimum
dropout voltage.
