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M
Triple-Output TFT LCD Power Supply
with Fault Protection
______________________________________________________________________________________
17
Inductor Selection
The minimum inductance value, peak current rating,
series resistance, and size are factors to consider when
selecting the inductor. These factors influence the con-
verter
’
s efficiency, maximum output load capability,
transient response time, and output voltage ripple. For
most applications, values between 3.3μH and 20μH
work best with the MAX1889
’
s switching frequencies.
The maximum load current, input voltage, output volt-
age, and switching frequency determine the inductor
value. For a given load current, higher inductor value
results in lower peak current and, thus, less output rip-
ple, but degrades the transient response and possibly
increases the size of the inductor. The equations pro-
vided here include a constant defined as LIR, which is
the ratio of the peak-to-peak inductor current ripple to
the average DC inductor current. For a good compro-
mise between the size of the inductor, power loss, and
output voltage ripple, select an LIR of 0.3 to 0.5. The
inductance value is then given by:
where
η
is the efficiency, f
OSC
is the oscillator frequency
(see the
Electrical Characteristics
), and I
MAIN
includes
the primary load current and the input supply currents
for the charge pumps. Considering the typical applica-
tion circuit, the maximum average DC load current
(I
MAIN(MAX)
) is 200mA with a 9V output. Based on the
above equations, and assuming 85% efficiency and a
switching frequency of 1MHz, the inductance value is
9.4μH for an LIR of 0.3. The inductance value is 5.6μH
for an LIR of 0.5. The inductance in the standard appli-
cation circuit is chosen to be 6.8μH.
The inductor
’
s peak current rating should be higher than
the peak inductor current throughout the normal operat-
ing range. The peak inductor current is given by:
Under fault conditions, the inductor current can reach the
internal LX current limit (see the
Electrical Characteristics
).
However, soft saturation inductors and the controller
’
s fast
current-limit circuitry protect the device from failure during
such a fault condition.
The inductor
’
s DC resistance can significantly affect
efficiency due to conduction losses in the inductor.
The power loss due to the inductor
’
s series resistance
(P
LR
) can be approximated by the following equation:
where I
L(AVG)
is the average inductor current and R
L
is
the inductor
’
s series resistance. For best performance,
select inductors with resistance less than the internal
N-channel MOSFET
’
s on-resistance (0.25
typ). To
minimize radiated noise in sensitive applications, use a
shielded inductor.
Output Capacitor
The output capacitor affects the circuit stability and out-
put voltage ripple. A 10μF ceramic capacitor works well
in most applications. Depending on the output capaci-
tor chosen, feedback compensation may be required
or desirable to increase the loop-phase margin or
increase the loop bandwidth for transient response
(see the
Feedback Compensation
section).
The total output voltage ripple has two components: the
capacitive ripple caused by the charging and discharg-
ing of the output capacitance, and the ohm ripple due to
the capacitor
’
s equivalent series resistance (ESR):
where I
PEAK
is the peak inductor current (see the
Inductor
Selection
section). For ceramic capacitors, the output volt-
age ripple is typically dominated by V
RIPPLE(C
). The volt-
age rating and temperature characteristics of the output
capacitor must also be considered.
Step-Up Regulator Compensation
The loop stability of a current-mode step-up regulator
can be analyzed using a small-signal model. In continu-
ous conduction mode (CCM), the loop-gain transfer
function consists of a dominant pole, a high-frequency
pole, a right-half-plane (RHP) zero, and an ESR zero. In
the case of ceramic output capacitors, the ESR zero is at
a very high frequency.
V
V
V
V
I
and
V
I
C
V
V
V
RIPPLE
RIPPLE ESR
≈
)
RIPPLE( )
RIPPLE ESR
PEAK ESR COUT
RIPPLE( )
MAIN
OUT
MAIN
MAIN OSC
IN
=
+
≈
(
)
(
(
),
-
P
I
R
I
V
V
R
LR
LAVG
(
L
MAIN
MAIN
IN
L
=
×
)2
2
I
I
V
V
LIR
2
PEAK
MAIN MAX
MAIN
IN MIN
(
=
+
(
)
)
1
1
η
L
V
V
V
V
I
LIR
IN TYP
(
MAIN
MAIN
IN TYP
(
MAIN MAX OSC
(
=
)
)
)
2
1
-
η