One of the parameters limiting the converter’s response to
a load transient is the time required to change the inductor
current. Given a sufficiently fast control loop design, the
HIP6004B will provide either 0% or 100% duty cycle in
response to a load transient. The response time is the time
required to slew the inductor current from an initial current
value to the transient current level. During this interval the
difference between the inductor current and the transient
current level must be supplied by the output capacitor.
Minimizing the response time can minimize the output
capacitance required.
The response time to a transient is different for the
application of load and the removal of load. The following
equations give the approximate response time interval for
application and removal of a transient load:
where: I
TRAN
is the transient load current step, t
RISE
is the
response time to the application of load, and t
FALL
is the
response time to the removal of load. With a +5V input
source, the worst case response time can be either at the
application or removal of load and dependent upon the
DACOUT setting. Be sure to check both of these equations
at the minimum and maximum output levels for the worst
case response time. With a +12V input, and output voltage
level equal to DACOUT, t
FALL
is the longest response time.
Input Capacitor Selection
Use a mix of input bypass capacitors to control the voltage
overshoot across the MOSFETs. Use small ceramic
capacitors for high frequency decoupling and bulk capacitors
to supply the current needed each time Q
1
turns on. Place the
small ceramic capacitors physically close to the MOSFETs
and between the drain of Q
1
and the source of Q
2
.
The important parameters for the bulk input capacitor are
the voltage rating and the RMS current rating. For reliable
operation, select the bulk capacitor with voltage and
current ratings above the maximum input voltage and
largest RMS current required by the circuit. The capacitor
voltage rating should be at least 1.25 times greater than the
maximum input voltage and a voltage rating of 1.5 times is
a conservative guideline. The RMS current rating
requirement for the input capacitor of a buck regulator is
approximately 1/2 the DC load current.
For a through hole design, several electrolytic capacitors
(Panasonic HFQ series or Nichicon PL series or Sanyo MV-GX
or equivalent) may be needed. For surface mount designs,
solid tantalum capacitors can be used, but caution must be
exercised with regard to the capacitor surge current rating.
These capacitors must be capable of handling the surge-
current at power-up. The TPS series available from AVX, and
the 593D series from Sprague are both surge current tested.
MOSFET Selection/Considerations
The HIP6004B requires 2 N-Channel power MOSFETs. These
should be selected based upon r
DS(ON)
, gate supply
requirements, and thermal management requirements.
In high-current applications, the MOSFET power dissipation,
package selection and heatsink are the dominant design
factors. The power dissipation includes two loss components;
conduction loss and switching loss. The conduction losses are
the largest component of power dissipation for both the upper
and the lower MOSFETs. These losses are distributed between
the two MOSFETs according to duty factor (see the equations
below). Only the upper MOSFET has switching losses, since
the Schottky rectifier clamps the switching node before the
synchronous rectifier turns on. These equations assume linear
voltage-current transitions and do not adequately model power
loss due the reverse-recovery of the lower MOSFET’s body
diode. The gate-charge losses are dissipated by the HIP6004B
and don't heat the MOSFETs. However, large gate-charge
increases the switching interval, t
SW
which increases the upper
MOSFET switching losses. Ensure that both MOSFETs are
within their maximum junction temperature at high ambient
temperature by calculating the temperature rise according to
package thermal-resistance specifications. A separate heatsink
may be necessary depending upon MOSFET power, package
type, ambient temperature and air flow.
Standard-gate MOSFETs are normally recommended for
use with the HIP6004B. However, logic-level gate
MOSFETs can be used under special circumstances. The
input voltage, upper gate drive level, and the MOSFET’s
absolute gate-to-source voltage rating determine whether
logic-level MOSFETs are appropriate.
Figure 9 shows the upper gate drive (BOOT pin) supplied by a
bootstrap circuit from V
CC
. The boot capacitor, C
BOOT
develops a floating supply voltage referenced to the PHASE
pin. This supply is refreshed each cycle to a voltage of V
CC
less the boot diode drop (V
D
) when the lower MOSFET, Q
2
turns on. Logic-level MOSFETs can only be used if the
MOSFET’s absolute gate-to-source voltage rating exceeds
the maximum voltage applied to V
CC
.
t
RISE
=
L x I
TRAN
V
IN
- V
OUT
t
FALL
=
L x I
TRAN
V
OUT
P
UPPER
= Io
2
x r
DS(ON)
x D +
1
2
Io x V
IN
x t
SW
x F
S
P
LOWER
= Io
2
x r
DS(ON)
x (1 - D)
Where: D is the duty cycle = V
OUT
/ V
IN
,
t
SW
is the switch ON time, and
F
S
is the switching frequency.
HIP6004B