RT8015D
Inductor Selection
small and don't radiate energy but generally cost more
than powdered iron core inductors with similar
characteristics. The choice of which style inductor to use
mainly depends on the price vs. size requirements and
any radiated field/EMI requirements.
For a given input and output voltage, the inductor value
and operating frequency determine the ripple current. The
ripple current ΔIL increases with higher VIN and decreases
with higher inductance.
V
f ×L
V
OUT
V
IN
⎡
⎤⎡
⎦⎣
⎤
OUT
CIN and COUT Selection
ΔI =
L
1−
⎥⎢
⎢
⎣
⎥
⎦
The input capacitance, CIN, is needed to filter the
trapezoidal current at the source of the top MOSFET. To
prevent large ripple voltage, a low ESR input capacitor
sized for the maximum RMS current should be used. RMS
current is given by :
Having a lower ripple current reduces the ESR losses in
the output capacitors and the output voltage ripple. Highest
efficiency operation is achieved at low frequency with small
ripple current. This, however, requires a large inductor. A
reasonable starting point for selecting the ripple current
is ΔI = 0.4(IMAX). The largest ripple current occurs at the
highest VIN. To guarantee that the ripple current stays
below a specified maximum, the inductor value should be
chosen according to the following equation :
V
V
V
IN
V
OUT
OUT
I
= I
−1
RMS
OUT(MAX)
IN
This formula has a maximum at VIN = 2VOUT, where
IRMS = IOUT/2. This simple worst-case condition is
commonly used for design because even significant
deviations do not offer much relief. Choose a capacitor
rated at a higher temperature than required.
⎡
⎤⎡
1−
⎤
V
OUT
V
OUT
L =
⎢
⎣
⎥⎢
⎥
⎦
f × ΔI
V
IN(MAX)
L(MAX)
⎦⎣
Inductor Core Selection
Several capacitors may also be paralleled to meet size or
height requirements in the design.
Once the value for L is known, the type of inductor must
be selected. High efficiency converters generally cannot
afford the core loss found in low cost powdered iron cores,
forcing the use of more expensive ferrite or mollypermalloy
cores. Actual core loss is independent of core size for a
fixed inductor value but it is very dependent on the
inductance selected. As the inductance increases, core
losses decrease. Unfortunately, increased inductance
requires more turns of wire and therefore copper losses
will increase.
The selection of COUT is determined by the effective series
resistance (ESR) that is required to minimize voltage ripple
and load step transients, as well as the amount of bulk
capacitance that is necessary to ensure that the control
loop is stable. Loop stability can be checked by viewing
the load transient response as described in a later section.
The output ripple, ΔVOUT, is determined by :
⎡
⎣
⎤
1
ΔV
≤ ΔI ESR +
OUT
L
⎢
⎥
⎦
8fC
OUT
Ferrite designs have very low core losses and are preferred
at high switching frequencies, so design goals can
concentrate on copper loss and preventing saturation.
Ferrite core material saturates “hard”, which means that
inductance collapses abruptly when the peak design
current is exceeded.
The output ripple is highest at maximum input voltage
since ΔIL increases with input voltage. Multiple capacitors
placed in parallel may be needed to meet the ESR and
RMS current handling requirements.Dry tantalum, special
polymer, aluminum electrolytic and ceramic capacitors are
all available in surface mount packages. Special polymer
capacitors offer very low ESR but have lower capacitance
density than other types. Tantalum capacitors have the
highest capacitance density but it is important to only
use types that have been surge tested for use in switching
power supplies. Aluminum electrolytic capacitors have
significantly higher ESR but can be used in cost-sensitive
This result in an abrupt increase in inductor ripple current
and consequent output voltage ripple.
Do not allow the core to saturate!
Different core materials and shapes will change the size/
current and price/current relationship of an inductor. Toroid
or shielded pot cores in ferrite or permalloy materials are
www.richtek.com
10
DS8015D-02 March 2011
RICHTEK [ RICHTEK TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION ]
