SNVSB49D April   2018  – September 2020 LMR36015

PRODUCTION DATA  

  1. Features
  2. Applications
  3. Description
  4. Revision History
  5. Description (continued)
  6. Device Comparison Table
  7. Pin Configuration and Functions
    1.     Pin Functions
  8. Specifications
    1. 8.1 Absolute Maximum Ratings
    2. 8.2 ESD Ratings
    3. 8.3 Recommended Operating Conditions
    4. 8.4 Thermal Information
    5. 8.5 Electrical Characteristics
    6. 8.6 Timing Requirements
    7. 8.7 System Characteristics
    8. 8.8 Typical Characteristics
  9. Detailed Description
    1. 9.1 Overview
    2. 9.2 Functional Block Diagram
    3. 9.3 Feature Description
      1. 9.3.1 Power-Good Flag Output
      2. 9.3.2 Enable and Start-up
      3. 9.3.3 Current Limit and Short Circuit
      4. 9.3.4 Undervoltage Lockout and Thermal Shutdown
    4. 9.4 Device Functional Modes
      1. 9.4.1 Auto Mode
      2. 9.4.2 Forced PWM Operation
      3. 9.4.3 Dropout
      4. 9.4.4 Minimum Switch On-Time
  10. 10Application and Implementation
    1. 10.1 Application Information
    2. 10.2 Typical Application
      1. 10.2.1 Design 1: Low Power 24-V, 1.5-A PFM Converter
        1. 10.2.1.1 Design Requirements
        2. 10.2.1.2 Detailed Design Procedure
          1. 10.2.1.2.1  Custom Design With WEBENCH Tools
          2. 10.2.1.2.2  Choosing the Switching Frequency
          3. 10.2.1.2.3  Setting the Output Voltage
          4. 10.2.1.2.4  Inductor Selection
          5. 10.2.1.2.5  Output Capacitor Selection
          6. 10.2.1.2.6  Input Capacitor Selection
          7. 10.2.1.2.7  CBOOT
          8. 10.2.1.2.8  VCC
          9. 10.2.1.2.9  CFF Selection
            1. 10.2.1.2.9.1 External UVLO
          10. 10.2.1.2.10 Maximum Ambient Temperature
      2. 10.2.2 Application Curves
      3. 10.2.3 Design 2: High Density 24-V, 1.5-A FPWM Converter
        1. 10.2.3.1 Design Requirements
        2. 10.2.3.2 Detailed Design Procedure
        3. 10.2.3.3 Application Curves
    3. 10.3 What to Do and What Not to Do
  11. 11Power Supply Recommendations
  12. 12Layout
    1. 12.1 Layout Guidelines
      1. 12.1.1 Ground and Thermal Considerations
    2. 12.2 Layout Example
  13. 13Device and Documentation Support
    1. 13.1 Device Support
      1. 13.1.1 Development Support
        1. 13.1.1.1 Custom Design With WEBENCH® Tools
    2. 13.2 Documentation Support
      1. 13.2.1 Related Documentation
    3. 13.3 Receiving Notification of Documentation Updates
    4. 13.4 Support Resources
    5. 13.5 Trademarks
    6. 13.6 Electrostatic Discharge Caution
    7. 13.7 Glossary
  14. 14Mechanical, Packaging, and Orderable Information
Inductor Selection

The parameters for selecting the inductor are the inductance and saturation current. The inductance is based on the desired peak-to-peak ripple current and is normally chosen to be in the range of 20% to 40% of the maximum output current. Experience shows that the best value for inductor ripple current is 30% of the maximum load current. Note that when selecting the ripple current for applications with much smaller maximum load than the maximum available from the device, use the the maximum device current. Equation 4 can be used to determine the value of inductance. The constant K is the percentage of inductor current ripple. For this example, K = 0.4 was chosen and an inductance of L = 16 µH was found; the standard value of 10 µH was selected.

Equation 4. GUID-A76E470F-7C8C-46EE-AC4B-8FB77DB53A21-low.gif

Ideally, the saturation current rating of the inductor is at least as large as the high-side switch current limit, ISC. This ensures that the inductor does not saturate even during a short circuit on the output. When the inductor core material saturates, the inductance falls to a very low value, causing the inductor current to rise very rapidly. Although the valley current limit, ILIMIT, is designed to reduce the risk of current runaway, a saturated inductor can cause the current to rise to high values very rapidly. This can lead to component damage; do not allow the inductor to saturate. Inductors with a ferrite core material have very hard saturation characteristics, but usually have lower core losses than powdered iron cores. Powered iron cores exhibit a soft saturation, allowing some relaxation in the current rating of the inductor. However, they have more core losses at frequencies above about 1 MHz. In any case, the inductor saturation current must not be less than the device low-side current limit, ILIMIT. To avoid subharmonic oscillation, the inductance value must not be less than that given in Equation 5:

Equation 5. GUID-5893C6F6-07D7-4017-8B77-0296F6771D91-low.gif