LT1956/LT1956-5
APPLICATIO S I FOR ATIO
FEEDBACK PIN FUNCTIONS
The feedback (FB) pin on the LT1956 is used to set output
voltage and provide several overload protection features.
The first part of this section deals with selecting resistors
to set output voltage and the remaining part talks about
foldback frequency and current limiting created by the FB
pin. Please read both parts before committing to a final
design. The 5V fixed output voltage part (LT1956-5) has
internal divider resistors and the FB pin is renamed SENSE,
connected directly to the output.
The suggested value for the output divider resistor (see
Figure 2) from FB to ground (R2) is 5k or less, and a
formula for R1 is shown below. The output voltage error
caused by ignoring the input bias current on the FB pin is
less than 0.25% with R2 = 5k. A table of standard 1%
values is shown in Table 1 for common output voltages.
Please read the following section if divider resistors are
increased above the suggested values.
R1
=
Table 1
OUTPUT
VOLTAGE
(V)
3
3.3
5
6
8
10
12
15
R2
(k
Ω
)
4.99
4.99
4.99
4.75
4.47
4.32
4.12
4.12
R1
(NEAREST 1%)
(k
Ω
)
7.32
8.45
15.4
18.7
24.9
30.9
36.5
46.4
% ERROR AT OUTPUT
DUE TO DISCRETE 1%
RESISTOR STEPS
+ 0.32
– 0.43
– 0.30
+ 0.38
+ 0.20
– 0.54
+ 0.24
– 0.27
R2
(
V
OUT
−
1.22
)
1.22
More Than Just Voltage Feedback
The feedback pin is used for more than just output voltage
sensing. It also reduces switching frequency and current
limit when output voltage is very low (see the Frequency
Foldback graph in Typical Performance Characteristics).
This is done to control power dissipation in both the IC
and in the external diode and inductor during short-circuit
conditions. A shorted output requires the switching regu-
lator to operate at very low duty cycles, and the average
8
U
current through the diode and inductor is equal to the
short-circuit current limit of the switch (typically 2A for
the LT1956, folding back to less than 1A). Minimum
switch on time limitations would prevent the switcher
from attaining a sufficiently low duty cycle if switching
frequency were maintained at 500kHz, so frequency is
reduced by about 5:1 when the feedback pin voltage drops
below 0.8V (see Frequency Foldback graph). This does
not affect operation with normal load conditions; one
simply sees a shift in switching frequency during start-up
as the output voltage rises.
In addition to lower switching frequency, the LT1956 also
operates at lower switch current limit when the feedback
pin voltage drops below 0.6V. Q2 in Figure 2 performs this
function by clamping the V
C
pin to a voltage less than its
normal 2.1V upper clamp level. This
foldback current limit
greatly reduces power dissipation in the IC, diode and in-
ductor during short-circuit conditions. External synchro-
nization is also disabled to prevent interference with fold-
back operation. Again, it is nearly transparent to the user
under normal load conditions. The only loads that may be
affected are current source loads which maintain full load
current with output voltage less than 50% of final value. In
these rare situations the feedback pin can be clamped above
0.6V with an external diode to defeat foldback current limit.
Caution:
clamping the feedback pin means that frequency
shifting will also be defeated, so a combination of high in-
put voltage and dead shorted output may cause the LT1956
to lose control of current limit.
The internal circuitry which forces reduced switching
frequency also causes current to flow out of the feedback
pin when output voltage is low. The equivalent circuitry is
shown in Figure 2. Q1 is completely off during normal
operation. If the FB pin falls below 0.8V, Q1 begins to
conduct current and reduces frequency at the rate of
approximately 3.5kHz/µA. To ensure adequate frequency
foldback (under worst-case short-circuit conditions), the
external divider Thevinin resistance must be low enough
to pull 115µA out of the FB pin with 0.44V on the pin (R
DIV
≤
3.8k).
The net result is that reductions in frequency and
current limit are affected by output voltage divider imped-
ance. Although divider impedance is not critical, caution
should be used if resistors are increased beyond the
suggested values and short-circuit conditions will occur
1956f
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