MP2361 – 2A, 23V, 1.4MHz STEP-DOWN CONVERTER
MP2361 Rev. 1.4 www.MonolithicPower.com 8
9/22/2011 MPS Proprietary Information. Unauthorized Photocopy and Duplication Prohibited.
© 2011 MPS. All Rights Reserved.
The input capacitor can be electrolytic, tantalum
or ceramic. When using electrolytic or tantalum
capacitors, a small, high quality ceramic
capacitor, i.e. 0.1μF, should be placed as close
to the IC as possible. When using ceramic
capacitors, make sure that they have enough
capacitance to provide sufficient charge to
prevent excessive voltage ripple at input. The
input voltage ripple caused by capacitance can
be estimated by:
⎟
⎟
⎠
⎞
⎜
⎜
⎝
⎛
−××
×
=Δ
IN
OUT
IN
OUT
S
LOAD
IN
V
V
1
V
V
1Cf
I
V
Output Capacitor
The output capacitor is required to maintain the
DC output voltage. Ceramic, tantalum, or low
ESR electrolytic capacitors are recommended.
Low ESR capacitors are preferred to keep the
output voltage ripple low. The output voltage
ripple can be estimated by:
⎟
⎟
⎠
⎞
⎜
⎜
⎝
⎛
××
+×
⎟
⎟
⎠
⎞
⎜
⎜
⎝
⎛
−×
×
=Δ
2Cf8
1
R
V
V
1
Lf
V
V
S
ESR
IN
OUT
S
OUT
OUT
Where L is the inductor value, R
ESR
is the
equivalent series resistance (ESR) value of the
output capacitor and C2 is the output
capacitance value.
In the case of ceramic capacitors, the
impedance at the switching frequency is
dominated by the capacitance. The output
voltage ripple is mainly caused by the
capacitance. For simplification, the output
voltage ripple can be estimated by:
⎟
⎟
⎠
⎞
⎜
⎜
⎝
⎛
−×
×××
=
IN
OUT
2
S
OUT
OUT
V
V
1
2CLf8
V
ΔV
In the case of tantalum or electrolytic capacitors,
the ESR dominates the impedance at the
switching frequency. For simplification, the
output ripple can be approximated to:
ESR
IN
OUT
S
OUT
OUT
R
V
V
1
Lf
V
ΔV ×
⎟
⎟
⎠
⎞
⎜
⎜
⎝
⎛
−×
×
=
The characteristics of the output capacitor also
affect the stability of the regulation system. The
MP2361 can be optimized for a wide range of
capacitance and ESR values.
Compensation Components
The MP2361 employs current mode control for
easy compensation and fast transient response.
The system stability and transient response are
controlled through the COMP pin. COMP pin is
the output of the internal transconductance
error amplifier. A series capacitor-resistor
combination sets a pole-zero combination to
control the characteristics of the control system.
The DC gain of the voltage feedback loop is
given by:
OUT
FB
VEACSLOADVDC
V
V
AGRA ×××=
Where R
LOAD
is the load resistor value, G
CS
is
the current sense transconductance and A
VEA
is
the error amplifier voltage gain.
The system has two poles of importance. One
is due to the compensation capacitor (C3) and
the output resistor of error amplifier, and the
other is due to the output capacitor and the load
resistor. These poles are located at:
VEA
EA
1P
A3C2
G
f
××π
=
LOAD
2P
R2C2
1
f
××π
=
Where G
EA
is the error amplifier
transconductance.
The system has one zero of importance, due to the
compensation capacitor (C3) and the
compensation resistor (R3). This zero is located at:
3R3C2
1
f
1Z
××π
=
The system may have another zero of
importance, if the output capacitor has a large
capacitance and/or a high ESR value. The zero,
due to the ESR and capacitance of the output
capacitor, is located at:
ESR
ESR
R2C2
1
f
××π
=
