Dual, High-Efficiency, Step-Down
Controller with High Impedance in Shutdown
Inductor Selection
The switching frequency (on-time) and operating point
(% ripple or LIR) determine the inductor value as follows:
L=
VOUT (VIN - VOUT)
VIN × f × LIR × I LOAD(MAX)
Example: ILOAD(MAX) = 8A, VIN = 15V, VOUT = 1.8V,
f = 300kHz, 25% ripple current or LIR = 0.25:
L=
1.8V (15V - 1.8V)
= 2.3µH
15V × 345kHz × 0.25 × 8A
Find a low-loss inductor with the lowest possible DC
resistance that fits in the allotted dimensions. Ferrite
cores are often the best choice, although powdered
iron is inexpensive and can work well at 200kHz. The
core must be large enough not to saturate at the peak
inductor current (IPEAK):
IPEAK = ILOAD(MAX) + [(LIR / 2) ✕ ILOAD(MAX)]
Transient Response
The inductor ripple current also impacts transient-
response performance, especially at low VIN - VOUT dif-
ferentials. Low inductor values allow the inductor
current to slew faster, replenishing charge removed
from the output filter capacitors by a sudden load step.
The amount of output sag is also a function of the maxi-
mum duty factor, which can be calculated from the on-
time and minimum off-time:
VSAG
=
(∆I LOAD(MAX))2 × L
2 × CF × DUTY (VIN(MIN) - VOUT)
where:
DUTY =
K (VOUT + 0.075V) VIN
K (VOUT + 0.075V) VOUT + min off - time
where minimum off-time = 400ns typ (Table 4).
The amount of overshoot during a full-load to no-load
transient due to stored inductor energy can be calculat-
ed as:
VSOAR = L ✕ IPEAK2 / (2 x COUT x VOUT)
where IPEAK is the peak inductor current.
Determining the Current Limit
For most applications, set the MAX8743 current limit by
the following procedure:
1) Determine the minimum (valley) inductor current
(IL(MIN)) under conditions when VIN is small, VOUT is
large, and load current is maximum. The minimum
inductor current is ILOAD minus half the ripple cur-
rent (Figure 4).
2) The sense resistor determines the achievable cur-
rent-limit accuracy. There is a trade-off between cur-
rent-limit accuracy and sense-resistor power
dissipation. Most applications employ a current-
sense voltage of 50mV to 100mV. Choose a sense
resistor such that:
RSENSE = Current-Limit Threshold Voltage / IL(MIN)
Extremely cost-sensitive applications that do not
require high-accuracy current sensing can use the on-
resistance of the low-side MOSFET switch in place of
the sense resistor by connecting CS_ to LX_ (Figure
7a). Use the worst-case value for RDS(ON) from the
MOSFET data sheet, and add a margin of 0.5%/°C for
the rise in RDS(ON) with temperature. Use the calculat-
ed RDS(ON) and IL(MIN) from step 1 above to determine
the current-limit threshold voltage. If the default 50mV
threshold is unacceptable, set the threshold value as in
step 2 above.
In all cases, ensure an acceptable current limit consid-
ering current-sense and resistor accuracies.
MAX8743
LX
DL
CS
MAX8743
LX
DL
CS
a)
b)
Figure 7. Current-Sense Configurations
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