
NCP5322A
http://onsemi.com
15
positive step in load current with values of L = 500 nH, R
L
= 1.6 m
, R
CSn
= 20 k and C
CSn
= 0.01
μ
F. For ideal current
signal compensation the value of R
CSn
should be 31 k
. Due
to the faster than ideal RC time constant there is an overshoot
of 50% and the overshoot decays with a 200
μ
s time
constant. With this compensation the I
LIM
pin threshold
must be set more than 50% above the full load current to
avoid triggering hiccup mode during a large output load
step.
Figure 13. Inductive Sensing Waveform During a
Load Step with Fast RC Time Constant (50
μ
s/div)
Current Limit
Two levels of overcurrent protection are provided. First,
if the voltage on the Current Sense pins (either CS1 or CS2)
exceeds CS
REF
by more than a fixed threshold (Single Pulse
Current Limit), the PWM comparator is turned off. This
provides fast peak current protection for individual phases.
Second, the individual phase currents are summed and
low
–
pass filtered to compare an averaged current signal to
a user adjustable voltage on the I
LIM
pin. If the I
LIM
voltage
is exceeded, the fault latch trips and the Soft Start capacitor
is discharged until the Soft
–
Start pin reaches 0.27 V. Then
Soft Start begins. The converter will continue to operate in
a low current hiccup mode until the fault condition is
corrected.
Overvoltage Protection
Overvoltage protection (OVP) is provided as a result of
the normal operation of the Enhanced V
2
control topology
with synchronous rectifiers. The control loop responds to an
overvoltage condition within 400 ns, causing the top
MOSFET to shut OFF and the synchronous (lower)
MOSFET to turn ON. This results in a
“
crowbar
”
action to
clamp the output voltage and prevent damage to the load.
The regulator will remain in this state until the overvoltage
condition ceases or the input voltage is pulled low.
Transient Response and Adaptive Positioning
For applications with fast transient currents the output filter
is frequently sized larger than ripple currents require in order
to reduce voltage excursions during load transients. Adaptive
voltage positioning can reduce peak
–
to
–
peak output voltage
deviations during load transients and allow for a smaller
output filter. The output voltage can be set higher than
nominal at light loads to reduce output voltage sag when the
load current is applied. Similarly, the output voltage can be set
lower than nominal during heavy loads to reduce overshoot
when the load current is removed. For low current
applications a droop resistor can provide fast accurate adaptive
positioning. However, at high currents the loss in a droop
resistor becomes excessive. For example; in a 50 A converter
a 1 m
resistor to provide a 50 mV change in output voltage
between no load and full load would dissipate 2.5 Watts.
Lossless adaptive positioning is an alternative to using a
droop resistor, but must respond to changes in load current.
Figure 14 shows how adaptive positioning works. The
waveform labeled normal shows a converter without
adaptive positioning. On the left, the output voltage sags
when the output current is stepped up and later overshoots
when current is stepped back down. With fast (ideal)
adaptive positioning the peak to peak excursions are cut in
half. In the slow adaptive positioning waveform the output
voltage is not repositioned quickly enough after current is
stepped up and the upper limit is exceeded.
Adaptive Positioning
Limits
Adaptive Positioning
Normal
Fast
Slow
Figure 14. Adaptive Positioning
The controller can be configured to adjust the output
voltage based on the output current of the converter. (Refer
to the application diagram in Figure 1). To set the no
–
load
positioning, a resistor is placed between the output voltage
and V
FB
pin. The V
FB
bias current will develop a voltage
across the resistor to adjust the no
–
load output voltage. The
V
FB
bias current is dependent on the value of R
OSC
as shown
in the datasheet.
During no load conditions the V
DRP
pin is at the same
voltage as the V
FB
pin, so none of the V
FB
bias current flows
through the V
DRP
resistor. When output current increases
the V
DRP
pin increases proportionally and the V
DRP
pin
current offsets the V
FB
bias current and causes the output
voltage to decrease.
The response during the first few microseconds of a load
transient are controlled primarily by power stage output
impedance and the ESR and ESL of the output filter. The