LM2676
SNVS031J –APRIL 2000–REVISED APRIL 2013
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INPUT CAPACITOR
Fast changing currents in high current switching regulators place a significant dynamic load on the unregulated
power source. An input capacitor helps to provide additional current to the power supply as well as smooth out
input voltage variations.
Like the output capacitor, the key specifications for the input capacitor are RMS current rating and working
voltage. The RMS current flowing through the input capacitor is equal to one-half of the maximum dc load current
so the capacitor should be rated to handle this. Paralleling multiple capacitors proportionally increases the
current rating of the total capacitance. The voltage rating should also be selected to be 1.3 times the maximum
input voltage. Depending on the unregulated input power source, under light load conditions the maximum input
voltage could be significantly higher than normal operation and should be considered when selecting an input
capacitor.
The input capacitor should be placed very close to the input pin of the LM2676. Due to relative high current
operation with fast transient changes, the series inductance of input connecting wires or PCB traces can create
ringing signals at the input terminal which could possibly propagate to the output or other parts of the circuitry. It
may be necessary in some designs to add a small valued (0.1μF to 0.47μF) ceramic type capacitor in parallel
with the input capacitor to prevent or minimize any ringing.
CATCH DIODE
When the power switch in the LM2676 turns OFF, the current through the inductor continues to flow. The path for
this current is through the diode connected between the switch output and ground. This forward biased diode
clamps the switch output to a voltage less than ground. This negative voltage must be greater than −1V so a low
voltage drop (particularly at high current levels) Schottky diode is recommended. Total efficiency of the entire
power supply is significantly impacted by the power lost in the output catch diode. The average current through
the catch diode is dependent on the switch duty cycle (D) and is equal to the load current times (1-D). Use of a
diode rated for much higher current than is required by the actual application helps to minimize the voltage drop
and power loss in the diode.
During the switch ON time the diode will be reversed biased by the input voltage. The reverse voltage rating of
the diode should be at least 1.3 times greater than the maximum input voltage.
BOOST CAPACITOR
The boost capacitor creates a voltage used to overdrive the gate of the internal power MOSFET. This improves
efficiency by minimizing the on resistance of the switch and associated power loss. For all applications it is
recommended to use a 0.01μF/50V ceramic capacitor.
ADDITIONAL APPLICATION INFORMATION
When the output voltage is greater than approximately 6V, and the duty cycle at minimum input voltage is greater
than approximately 50%, the designer should exercise caution in selection of the output filter components. When
an application designed to these specific operating conditions is subjected to a current limit fault condition, it may
be possible to observe a large hysteresis in the current limit. This can affect the output voltage of the device until
the load current is reduced sufficiently to allow the current limit protection circuit to reset itself.
Under current limiting conditions, the LM267x is designed to respond in the following manner:
1. At the moment when the inductor current reaches the current limit threshold, the ON-pulse is immediately
terminated. This happens for any application condition.
2. However, the current limit block is also designed to momentarily reduce the duty cycle to below 50% to avoid
subharmonic oscillations, which could cause the inductor to saturate.
3. Thereafter, once the inductor current falls below the current limit threshold, there is a small relaxation time
during which the duty cycle progressively rises back above 50% to the value required to achieve regulation.
If the output capacitance is sufficiently ‘large’, it may be possible that as the output tries to recover, the output
capacitor charging current is large enough to repeatedly re-trigger the current limit circuit before the output has
fully settled. This condition is exacerbated with higher output voltage settings because the energy requirement of
the output capacitor varies as the square of the output voltage (½CV2), thus requiring an increased charging
current.
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