MIC39100/39101/39102
Micrel
Input Capacitor
Applications Information
An input capacitor of 1µF or greater is recommended when
thedeviceismorethan4inchesawayfromthebulkacsupply
capacitance or when the supply is a battery. Small, surface
mount, ceramic chip capacitors can be used for bypassing.
Larger values will help to improve ripple rejection by bypass-
ing the input to the regulator, further improving the integrity of
the output voltage.
The MIC39100/1/2 is a high-performance low-dropout volt-
age regulator suitable for moderate to high-current voltage
regulator applications. Its 630mV dropout voltage at full load
and overtemperature makes it especially valuable in battery-
powered systems and as high-efficiency noise filters in post-
regulator applications. Unlike older NPN-pass transistor de-
signs, where the minimum dropout voltage is limited by the
base-to-emitter voltage drop and collector-to-emitter satura-
tion voltage, dropout performance of the PNP output of these
Error Flag
The MIC39101 features an error flag (FLG), which monitors
the output voltage and signals an error condition when this
voltage drops 5% below its expected value. The error flag is
an open-collector output that pulls low under fault conditions
and may sink up to 10mA. Low output voltage signifies a
number of possible problems, including an overcurrent fault
(the device is in current limit) or low input voltage. The flag
output is inoperative during overtemperature conditions. A
devices is limited only by the low V saturation voltage.
CE
A trade-off for the low dropout voltage is a varying base drive
requirement. Micrel’s Super βeta PNP™ process reduces
this drive requirement to only 2% of the load current.
The MIC39100/1/2 regulator is fully protected from damage
due to fault conditions. Linear current limiting is provided.
Output current during overload conditions is constant. Ther-
mal shutdown disables the device when the die temperature
exceeds the maximum safe operating temperature. Tran-
sient protection allows device (and load) survival even when
the input voltage spikes above and below nominal. The
outputstructureoftheseregulatorsallowsvoltagesinexcess
of the desired output voltage to be applied without reverse
current flow.
pull-up resistor from FLG to either V or V
is required for
IN
OUT
properoperation.Forinformationregardingtheminimumand
maximum values of pull-up resistance, refer to the graph in
the typical characteristics section of the data sheet.
Enable Input
The MIC39101 and MIC39102 versions feature an active-
high enable input (EN) that allows on-off control of the
regulator. Current drain reduces to “zero” when the device is
shutdown, with only microamperes of leakage current. The
EN input has TTL/CMOS compatible thresholds for simple
MIC39100-x.x
VIN
VOUT
IN
OUT
GND
logic interfacing. EN may be directly tied to V and pulled up
CIN
COUT
IN
to the maximum supply voltage
Transient Response and 3.3V to 2.5V or 2.5V to 1.8V
Conversion
Figure 1. Capacitor Requirements
Output Capacitor
The MIC39100/1/2 has excellent transient response to varia-
tions in input voltage and load current. The device has been
designed to respond quickly to load current variations and
input voltage variations. Large output capacitors are not
required to obtain this performance. A standard 10µF output
capacitor, preferably tantalum, is all that is required. Larger
values help to improve performance even further.
The MIC39100/1/2 requires an output capacitor to maintain
stability and improve transient response. Proper capacitor
selection is important to ensure proper operation. The
MIC39100/1/2 output capacitor selection is dependent upon
theESR(equivalentseriesresistance)oftheoutputcapacitor
to maintain stability. When the output capacitor is 10µF or
greater, the output capacitor should have an ESR less than
2Ω. This will improve transient response as well as promote
stability. Ultra-low-ESR capacitors (<100mΩ), such as ce-
ramic chip capacitors, may promote instability. These very
low ESR levels may cause an oscillation and/or underdamp-
ed transient response. A low-ESR solid tantalum capacitor
works extremely well and provides good transient response
and stability over temperature. Aluminum electrolytics can
also be used, as long as the ESR of the capacitor is <2Ω.
By virtue of its low-dropout voltage, this device does not
saturate into dropout as readily as similar NPN-based de-
signs. Whenconvertingfrom3.3Vto2.5Vor2.5Vto1.8V, the
NPN based regulators are already operating in dropout, with
typical dropout requirements of 1.2V or greater. To convert
down to 2.5V or 1.8V without operating in dropout, NPN-
based regulators require an input voltage of 3.7V at the very
least. The MIC39100 regulator will provide excellent perfor-
mance with an input as low as 3.0V or 2.5V respectively. This
gives the PNP based regulators a distinct advantage over
older, NPN based linear regulators.
The value of the output capacitor can be increased without
limit. Higher capacitance values help to improve transient
response and ripple rejection and reduce output noise.
Minimum Load Current
TheMIC39100/1/2regulatorisspecifiedbetweenfiniteloads.
If the output current is too small, leakage currents dominate
and the output voltage rises. A 10mA minimum load current
is necessary for proper regulation.
June 2000
9
MIC39100/39101/39102
MICREL [ MICREL SEMICONDUCTOR ]
