
11
capacitor. A conservative approach is presented in the 
following equation.
Output Capacitor Selection
An output capacitor is required to filter the output and supply 
the load transient current. The filtering requirements are a 
function of the switching frequency and the ripple current. 
The load transient requirements are a function of the slew 
rate (di/dt) and the magnitude of the transient load current. 
These requirements are generally met with a mix of 
capacitors and careful layout.
Modern digital ICs can produce high transient load slew 
rates. High frequency capacitors initially supply the transient 
and slow the current load rate seen by the bulk capacitors. 
The bulk filter capacitor values are generally determined by 
the ESR (Effective Series Resistance) and voltage rating 
requirements rather than actual capacitance requirements.
High frequency decoupling capacitors should be placed as 
close to the power pins of the load as physically possible. Be 
careful not to add inductance in the circuit board wiring that 
could cancel the usefulness of these low inductance 
components. Consult with the manufacturer of the load on 
specific decoupling requirements.
Use only specialized low-ESR capacitors intended for 
switching-regulator applications for the bulk capacitors. The 
bulk capacitor’s ESR will determine the output ripple voltage 
and the initial voltage drop after a high slew-rate transient. An 
aluminum electrolytic capacitor’s ESR value is related to the 
case size with lower ESR available in larger case sizes. 
However, the Equivalent Series Inductance (ESL) of these 
capacitors increases with case size and can reduce the 
usefulness of the capacitor to high slew-rate transient loading. 
Unfortunately, ESL is not a specified parameter. Work with 
your capacitor supplier and measure the capacitor’s 
impedance with frequency to select a suitable component. In 
most cases, multiple electrolytic capacitors of small case size 
perform better than a single large case capacitor.
Output Inductor Selection
The output inductor is selected to meet the output voltage 
ripple requirements and minimize the converter’s response 
time to the load transient. The inductor value determines the 
converter’s ripple current and the ripple voltage is a function 
of the ripple current. The ripple voltage and current are 
approximated by the following equations:
Increasing the value of inductance reduces the ripple current 
and voltage. However, the large inductance values reduce 
the converter’s response time to a load transient.
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 
ISL6439 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. The worst case 
response time can be either at the application or removal of 
load. Be sure to check both of these equations at the 
minimum and maximum output levels for the worst case 
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.
The maximum RMS current required by the regulator may be 
closely approximated through the following equation:
For a through hole design, several electrolytic capacitors 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. 
C
PUMP
I
CC
s
------------------------------------
1.5
×
=
I =
V
IN
 - V
OUT
f
s
 x L
V
OUT
V
IN
V
OUT
=
 
I x ESR
x
t
RISE
 =
L x I
TRAN
V
IN
 - V
OUT
t
FALL
 =
L x I
TRAN
V
OUT
I
RMSMAX
V
IN
-------------
I
OUTMAX
2
1
12
------
-----------–
f
s
×
L
V
IN
-------------
×
2
×
+
×
=
ISL6439