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LTC3727LX-1
3727lx1fa
the feedback loop. Placing a power MOSFET directly
across the output capacitor and driving the gate with an
appropriate signal generator is a practical way to produce
a realistic load step condition. The initial output voltage
step resulting from the step change in output current may
not be within the bandwidth of the feedback loop, so this
signal cannot be used to determine phase margin. This is
why it is better to look at the I
TH
pin signal which is in the
feedback loop and is the filtered and compensated control
loop response. The gain of the loop will be increased by
increasing R
C
and the bandwidth of the loop will be
increased by decreasing C
C
. If R
C
is increased by the same
factor that C
C
is decreased, the zero frequency will be kept
the same, thereby keeping the phase shift the same in the
most critical frequency range of the feedback loop. The
output voltage settling behavior is related to the stability of
the closed-loop system and will demonstrate the actual
overall supply performance.
A second, more severe transient is caused by switching in
loads with large (>1µF) supply bypass capacitors. The
discharged bypass capacitors are effectively put in parallel
with C
OUT
, causing a rapid drop in V
OUT
. No regulator can
alter its delivery of current quickly enough to prevent this
sudden step change in output voltage if the load switch
resistance is low and it is driven quickly. If the ratio of
C
LOAD
to C
OUT
is greater than 1:50, the switch rise time
should be controlled so that the load rise time is limited to
approximately 25 • C
LOAD
. Thus a 10µF capacitor would
require a 250µs rise time, limiting the charging current to
about 200mA.
Automotive Considerations: Plugging into the
Cigarette Lighter
As battery-powered devices go mobile, there is a natural
interest in plugging into the cigarette lighter in order to
conserve or even recharge battery packs during opera-
tion. But before you connect, be advised: you are plugging
into the supply from Hell. The main power line in an
automobile is the source of a number of nasty potential
transients, including load-dump, reverse-battery, and
double-battery.
Load-dump is the result of a loose battery cable. When the
cable breaks connection, the field collapse in the alternator
mum of 22µF to 47µF of capacitance having a maximum
of 20mΩ to 50mΩ of ESR. The LTC3727LX-1 2-phase
architecture typically halves this input capacitance re-
quirement over competing solutions. Other losses, in-
cluding Schottky diode conduction losses during dead-
time and inductor core losses, generally account for less
than 2% total additional loss.
Checking Transient Response
The regulator loop response can be checked by looking at
the load current transient response. Switching regulators
take several cycles to respond to a step in DC (resistive)
load current. When a load step occurs, V
OUT
shifts by an
amount equal to ∆I
LOAD
(ESR), where ESR is the effective
series resistance of C
OUT
. ∆I
LOAD
also begins to charge or
discharge C
OUT
generating the feedback error signal that
forces the regulator to adapt to the current change and
return V
OUT
to its steady-state value. During this recovery
time V
OUT
can be monitored for excessive overshoot or
ringing, which would indicate a stability problem. OPTI-
LOOP compensation allows the transient response to be
optimized over a wide range of output capacitance and
ESR values.
The availability of the I
TH
pin not only allows
optimization of control loop behavior but also provides a
DC coupled and AC filtered closed loop response test
point. The DC step, rise time and settling at this test point
truly reflects the closed loop response
. Assuming a pre-
dominantly second order system, phase margin and/or
damping factor can be estimated using the percentage of
overshoot seen at this pin. The bandwidth can also be
estimated by examining the rise time at the pin. The I
TH
external components shown in the Figure 1 circuit will
provide an adequate starting point for most applications.
The I
TH
series R
C
-C
C
filter sets the dominant pole-zero
loop compensation. The values can be modified slightly
(from 0.5 to 2 times their suggested values) to optimize
transient response once the final PC layout is done and the
particular output capacitor type and value have been
determined. The output capacitors need to be selected
because the various types and values determine the loop
gain and phase. An output current pulse of 20% to 80% of
full-load current having a rise time of 1µs to 10µs will
produce output voltage and I
TH
pin waveforms that will
give a sense of the overall loop stability without breaking
APPLICATIO S I FOR ATIO
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