
LTC3541-2
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OPERATIO
U
TheLTC3541-2containsahighefficiencysynchronous
buckconverter,averylowdropoutregulator(VLDO),and
alinearregulatorthatcanbeusedtoprovideuptotwo
outputvoltagesfromasingleinputvoltagemakingthe
LTC3541-2idealforapplicationswithlimitedboardspace.
Thecombinationandconfigurationofthesemajorblocks
withintheLTC3541-2isdeterminedbywayofthecontrol
pinsENBUCKandENVLDOasdefinedinTable1.
WiththeENBUCKpindriventoalogichighandENVLDO
driventoalogiclow,theLTC3541-2enablesthebuck
converter to efficiently reduce the voltage provided at
theVINinputpintoanoutputvoltageof1.875Vwhich
issetbyaninternalfeedbackresistornetwork.Thebuck
regulatorcanbeconfiguredforPulse-SkiporBurstMode
operationbydrivingtheMODEpintoalogichighorlogic
lowrespectively.Thebuckregulatoriscapableofprovid-
ingamaximumoutputcurrentof500mA,whichmustbe
takenintoconsiderationwhenusingthebuckregulator
toprovidethepowerforboththeVLDOregulatorandfor
externalloads.
WiththeENBUCKpindriventoalogiclowandENVLDO
driventoalogichigh,theLTC3541-2enablesthelinear
regulator,providingalownoiseregulatedoutputvoltage
of1.5VattheLVOUTpinwhiledrawingminimalquiescent
currentfromtheVINinputpin.Thisfeatureallowsoutput
voltageLVOUTtobebroughtintoregulationwithoutthe
presenceoftheLVINvoltage.
With the ENBUCK and ENVLDO pins both driven to a
logic high, the LTC3541-2 enables the high efficiency
buckconverterandVLDO,providingdualoutputopera-
tionfromasingleinputvoltage.Whenconfiguredinthis
manner,theLTC3541-2’sautostart-upsequencingfeature
willbringthebuckoutput(1.875V)intoregulationina
controlledmannerpriortoenablingtheVLDOregulator
(1.5V)withouttheneedforexternalpincontrol.Adetailed
discussionofthetransitionsbetweentheVLDOregula-
torandlinearregulatorcanbefoundintheVLDO/Linear
RegulatorLoopsection.
Buck Regulator Control Loop
TheLTC3541-2internalbuckregulatorusesaconstant
frequency,currentmode,step-downarchitecture.Boththe
main(top,P-channelMOSFET)andsynchronous(bottom,
N-channelMOSFET)switchesareinternal.Duringnormal
operation,theinternalmainswitchisturnedonatthebe-
ginningofeachclockcycleprovidedtheinternalfeedback
voltagetothebuckislessthanthereferencevoltage.The
currentintotheinductorprovidedtotheloadincreases
untilthecurrentlimitisreached.Oncethecurrentlimitis
reachedthemainswitchturnsoffandtheenergystored
intheinductorflowsthroughthebottomsynchronous
switchintotheloaduntilthenextclockcycle.
Thepeakinductorcurrentisdeterminedbycomparingthe
buckfeedbacksignaltoaninternal0.8Vreference.When
theloadcurrentincreases,theoutputofthebuckand
hencethebuckfeedbacksignaldecrease.Thisdecrease
causesthepeakinductorcurrenttoincreaseuntiltheaver-
ageinductorcurrentmatchestheloadcurrent.Whilethe
mainswitchisoff,thesynchronousswitchisturnedon
untileithertheinductorcurrentstartstoreversedirection
orthebeginningofanewclockcycle.
WhentheMODEpinisdriventoalogiclow,theLTC3541-2
buckregulatoroperatesinBurstModeoperationforhigh
efficiency.Inthismode,themainswitchoperatesbased
upon load demand. In Burst Mode operation the peak
inductorcurrentissettoafixedvalue,whereeachburst
eventcanlastfromafewclockcyclesatlightloadsto
nearly continuous cycling at moderate loads. Between
bursteventsthemainswitchandanyunneededcircuitry
areturnedoff,reducingthequiescentcurrent.Inthissleep
state,theloadisbeingsuppliedsolelyfromtheoutput
capacitor.Astheoutputvoltagedroops,aninternalerror
amplifier’soutputrisesuntilawakethresholdisreached
causingthemainswitchtoagainturnon.Thisprocess
repeatsataratethatisdependantupontheloadcurrent
demand.