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Features Description: LTC3810 100V Current Mode Synchronous Switching Regulator Controller

The document describes the LTC3810, a synchronous step-down switching regulator controller that can directly step-down voltages from up to 100V. It has a constant on-time valley current control architecture to deliver very low duty cycles with accurate cycle-by-cycle current limit without requiring a sense resistor. It is ideal for telecom and automotive applications and has features like high voltage operation up to 100V, fast transient response, and adjustable on-time/frequency.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
106 views

Features Description: LTC3810 100V Current Mode Synchronous Switching Regulator Controller

The document describes the LTC3810, a synchronous step-down switching regulator controller that can directly step-down voltages from up to 100V. It has a constant on-time valley current control architecture to deliver very low duty cycles with accurate cycle-by-cycle current limit without requiring a sense resistor. It is ideal for telecom and automotive applications and has features like high voltage operation up to 100V, fast transient response, and adjustable on-time/frequency.

Uploaded by

CenkGezmiş
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 38

LTC3810

100V Current Mode


Synchronous Switching
Regulator Controller
DESCRIPTION

FEATURES
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The LTC3810 is a synchronous step-down switching


regulator controller that can directly step-down voltages
from up to 100V, making it ideal for telecom and automotive applications. The LTC3810 uses a constant on-time
valley current control architecture to deliver very low duty
cycles with accurate cycle-by-cycle current limit, without
requiring a sense resistor.

High Voltage Operation: Up to 100V


Large 1 Gate Drivers
No Current Sense Resistor Required
Dual N-Channel MOSFET Synchronous Drive
Extremely Fast Transient Response
0.5% 0.8V Voltage Reference
Programmable Output Voltage Tracking/Soft-Start
Generates 10V Driver Supply from Input Supply
Synchronizable to External Clock
Selectable Pulse Skip Mode Operation
Power Good Output Voltage Monitor
Adjustable On-Time/Frequency: tON(MIN) < 100ns
Adjustable Cycle-by-Cycle Current Limit
Programmable Undervoltage Lockout
Output Overvoltage Protection
28-Pin SSOP Package

A precise internal reference provides 0.5% DC accuracy. A


high bandwidth (25MHz) error amplier provides very fast
line and load transient response. Large 1 gate drivers
allow the LTC3810 to drive multiple MOSFETs for higher
current applications. The operating frequency is selected
by an external resistor and is compensated for variations
in VIN and can also be synchronized to an external clock
for switching-noise sensitive applications. A shutdown pin
allows the LTC3810 to be turned off, reducing the supply
current to 240A.

APPLICATIONS
n
n
n

Integrated bias control generates gate drive power from the


input supply during start-up and when an output shortcircuit occurs, with the addition of a small external SOT23
MOSFET. When in regulation, power is derived from the
output for higher efciency.

48V Telecom and Base Station Power Supplies


Networking Equipment, Servers
Automotive and Industrial Control Systems

L, LT, LTC, LTM, Linear Technology, Burst Mode and the Linear logo are registered trademarks
and No RSENSE is a trademark of Linear Technology Corporation. All other trademarks are the
property of their respective owners. Protected by U.S. Patents including 5481178, 5847554,
6304066, 6476589, 6580258, 6677210, 6774611.

TYPICAL APPLICATION
High Efciency High Voltage Step-Down Converter

ION

CSS
1000pF

95

LTC3810

MODE/SYNC

SHDN

M1
Si7456DP

TG
0.1F

200k

VOUT
12V/6A

SW
DRVCC
INTVCC

SENSE
BGRTN

VIN = 75V
90

85

RFB1
14k
D1
MBR1100

M2
Si7456DP

BG
SGND

L1
10H

EXTVCC

SENSE+

ITH
VFB

5pF

VIN = 50V
VIN = 25V

BOOST

SS/TRACK

47pF

100

CIN
22F

M3
ZXMN10A07F

NDRV

PGOOD
VRNG

100k

EFFICIENCY (%)

RON
261k

Efciency vs Load Current

VIN
15V TO 100V

COUT
270F

80
0

3
LOAD (A)

6
3810 TA01b

1F

RFB2
1k

3810 TA01

3810fc

LTC3810
ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM RATINGS

PIN CONFIGURATION

(Note 1)

Supply Voltages
INTVCC, DRVCC ...................................... 0.3V to 14V
(DRVCC - BGRTN), (BOOST - SW) ......... 0.3V to 14V
BOOST ................................................ 0.3V to 114V
BGRTN ....................................................... 5V to 0V
EXTVCC .................................................. 0.3V to 15V
(NDRV - INTVCC) Voltage ........................... 0.3V to 10V
SW, SENSE+ Voltage ................................... 1V to 100V
ION Voltage ............................................... 0.3V to 100V
SS/TRACK Voltage ....................................... 0.3V to 5V
PGOOD Voltage ............................................ 0.3V to 7V
VRNG, VON, MODE/SYNC, SHDN,
UVIN Voltages........................................ 0.3V to 14V
PLL/LPF, FB Voltages................................. 0.3V to 2.7V
TG, BG, INTVCC, EXTVCC RMS Currents .................50mA
Operating Junction Temperature Range
(Notes 2, 3, 7) ........................................ 40C to 125C
Storage Temperature Range................... 65C to 150C
Lead Temperature (Soldering, 10 sec) .................. 300C

TOP VIEW
ION

28 BOOST

NC

27 TG

NC

26 SW

VON

25 SENSE+

VRNG

24 NC

PGOOD

23 NC

MODE/SYNC

22 NC

ITH

21 SENSE

VFB

20 BGRTN

PLL/LPF 10

19 BG

SS/TRACK 11

18 DRVCC

SGND 12

17 INTVCC

SHDN 13

16 EXTVCC

UVIN 14

15 NDRV

G PACKAGE
28-LEAD PLASTIC SSOP
TJMAX = 125C, JA = 80C/W

ORDER INFORMATION
LEAD FREE FINISH

TAPE AND REEL

PART MARKING

PACKAGE DESCRIPTION

TEMPERATURE RANGE

LTC3810EG#PBF

LTC3810EG#TRPBF

LTC3810EG

28-Lead Plastic SSOP

40C to 125C

LTC3810IG#PBF

LTC3810IG#TRPBF

LTC3810IG

28-Lead Plastic SSOP

40C to 125C

Consult LTC Marketing for parts specied with wider operating temperature ranges.
Consult LTC Marketing for information on non-standard lead based nish parts.
For more information on lead free part marking, go to: http://www.linear.com/leadfree/
For more information on tape and reel specications, go to: http://www.linear.com/tapeandreel/

ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The l denotes specications which apply over the full operating


temperature range, otherwise specications are at TA = 25C (Note 2), INTVCC = DRVCC = VBOOST = VON = VRNG = SHDN = UVIN =
VEXTVCC = VNDRV = 10V, VMODE/SYNC = VSENSE+ = VSENSE = VBGRTN = VSW =0V, unless otherwise specied.
SYMBOL
Main Control Loop
INTVCC
IQ

PARAMETER

IBOOST

INTVCC Supply Voltage


INTVCC Supply Current
INTVCC Shutdown Current
BOOST Supply Current

VFB

Feedback Voltage

CONDITIONS

MIN
l

SHDN > 1.5V, INTVCC = 9.5V (Notes 4, 5)


SHDN = 0V
SHDN > 1.5V (Note 5)
SHDN = 0V
(Note 4)
0C to 85C
40C to 85C
40C to 125C

l
l
l

TYP

MAX

UNITS

3
240
270
0
0.800
0.800
0.800
0.800

14
6
600
400
5
0.804
0.806
0.806
0.808

V
mA
A
A
A
V
V
V
V

6.35

0.796
0.794
0.792
0.792

3810fc

LTC3810
ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The l denotes specications which apply over the full operating


temperature range, otherwise specications are at TA = 25C (Note 2), INTVCC = DRVCC = VBOOST = VON = VRNG = SHDN = UVIN =
VEXTVCC = VNDRV = 10V, VMODE/SYNC = VSENSE+ = VSENSE = VBGRTN = VSW = 0V, unless otherwise specied.
SYMBOL
VFB,LINE
VSENSE(MAX)

PARAMETER
Feedback Voltage Line Regulation

CONDITIONS
7V < INTVCC < 14V (Note 4)

Maximum Current Sense Threshold

VRNG = 2V, VFB = 0.76V


VRNG = 0V, VFB = 0.76V
VRNG = INTVCC, VFB = 0.76V
VRNG = 2V, VFB = 0.84V
VRNG = 0V, VFB = 0.84V
VRNG = INTVCC, VFB = 0.84V
VFB = 0.8V

VSENSE(MIN)

Minimum Current Sense Threshold

IVFB
AVOL(EA)
fU

Feedback Current
Error Amplier DC Open Loop Gain
Error Amp Unity-Gain Crossover
Frequency
MODE/SYNC Threshold
MODE/SYNC Current
Shutdown Threshold
SHDN Pin Input Current
VIN Undervoltage Lockout

VMODE/SYNC
IMODE/SYNC
VSHDN
ISHDN
VVINUV

VVCCUV

INTVCC Undervoltage Lockout


Linear Regulator Mode
External Supply Mode
Trickle-Charge Mode

Oscillator and Phase-Locked Loop


On-Time
tON
tON(MIN)
tOFF(MIN)
tON(PLL)

IPLL/LPF

Minimum On-Time
Minimum Off-Time
tON Modulation Range by PLL
Down Modulation
Up Modulation
Phase Detector Output Current
Sinking Capability
Sourcing Capability

MIN

TYP
0.002

MAX
0.02

UNITS
%/V

256
70
170

320
95
215
300
85
200
20
100
25

384
120
260

mV
mV
mV
mV
mV
mV
nA
dB
MHz

0.8
0
1.5
0
0.88
0.80
0.10

0.85
1
2
1
0.92
0.82
0.12

V
A
V
A
V
V
V

65
(Note 6)
VMODE/SYNC Rising
MODE/SYNC = 10V

0.75
1.2

150

VIN Rising
VIN Falling
Hysteresis

l
l

0.86
0.78
0.07

INTVCC Rising, INDRV = 100A


INTVCC Rising, NDRV = INTVCC = EXTVCC
INTVCC Rising, NDRV = INTVCC, EXTVCC = 0
INTVCC Falling

l
l
l

6.05
6.05
11.7

6.2
6.2
12
5.7

6.35
6.35
12.3

V
V
V
V

1.55
515

1.85
605
250

2.15
695
100
350

s
ns
ns
ns

3.6
1.2

5
1.8

s
s

ION = 100A
ION = 300A
ION = 2000A

ION = 100A, VPLL/LPF = 0.6V


ION = 100A, VPLL/LPF = 1.8V

2.2
0.6

fPLLIN < fSW


fPLLIN > fSW

Driver
IBG,PEAK
RBG,SINK

BG Driver Peak Source Current


BG Driver Pull-Down RDS(ON)

VBG = 0V

ITG,PEAK
RTG,SINK

TG Driver Peak Source Current


TG Driver Pull-Down RDS(ON)

VTG VSW = 0V

PGOOD Upper Threshold


PGOOD Lower Threshold
PGOOD Hysteresis

VFB Rising
VFB Falling
VFB Returning

PGOOD Low Voltage


PGOOD Leakage Current
PGOOD Delay

IPGOOD = 5mA
VPGOOD = 5V
VFB Falling

15
25
1.5
1.5

A
A

2
1

1.5

2
1

1.5

10
10
1.5

12.5
12.5
3

%
%
%

0.3
0
120

0.6
2

V
A
s

PGOOD Output
VFBOV
VFB,HYST
VPGOOD
IPGOOD
PG Delay

7.5
7.5

3810fc

LTC3810
ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The l denotes specications which apply over the full operating


temperature range, otherwise specications are at TA = 25C (Note 2), INTVCC = DRVCC = VBOOST = VON = VRNG = SHDN = UVIN =
VEXTVCC = VNDRV = 10V, VMODE/SYNC = VSENSE+ = VSENSE = VBGRTN = VSW = 0V, unless otherwise specied.
SYMBOL
Tracking
ISS/TRACK
VFB,TRACK
VCC Regulators
VEXTVCC

VINTVCC,1
VEXTVCC,1
VLOADREG,1
VINTVCC,2
VLOADREG,2
INDRV
INDRVTO
VCCSR
ICCSR

PARAMETER

CONDITIONS

MIN

TYP

MAX

SS/TRACK Source Current


Feedback Voltage at Tracking

VSS/TRACK > 0.5V


VTRACK = 0V, ITH = 1.2V (Note 4)
VTRACK = 0.5V, ITH = 1.2V (Note 4)

0.7

1.4
0.018
0.5

2.5
0.52

A
V
V

6.7
0.3
10
170

0.5
10.6
250

V
V
V
mV

EXTVCC Switchover Voltage


EXTVCC Rising
EXTVCC Hysteresis
INTVCC Voltage from EXTVCC
VEXTVCC VINTVCC at Dropout

0.48

6.4
0.1
9.4

10.5V < VEXTVCC < 15V


ICC = 20mA, VEXTVCC = 9.1V

0.01

UNITS

INTVCC Load Regulation from EXTVCC

ICC = 0mA to 20mA, VEXTVCC = 12V

INTVCC Voltage from NDRV Regulator


INTVCC Load Regulation from NDRV

Linear Regulator in Operation


ICC = 0mA to 20mA, VEXTVCC = 0

9.4

10
0.01

10.6

V
%

Current into NDRV Pin


Linear Regulator Timeout Enable
Threshold
Maximum Supply Voltage
Maximum Current into NDRV/INTVCC

VNDRV VINTVCC = 3V

20
210

40
270

60
350

A
A

Trickle Charger Shunt Regulator


Trickle Charger Shunt Regulator,
INTVCC 16.7V (Note 8)

Note 1: Stresses beyond those listed under Absolute Maximum Ratings


may cause permanent damage to the device. Exposure to any Absolute
Maximum Rating condition for extended periods may affect device
reliability and lifetime.
Note 2: The LTC3810 is tested under pulsed load conditions such that
TJ TA. The LTC3810E is guaranteed to meet performance specications
from 0C to 85C. Specications over the 40C to 125C operating
junction temperature range are assured by design, characterization and
correlation with statistical process controls. The LTC3810I is guaranteed
to meet perfomance specications over the full 40C to 125C operating
junction temperature range.
Note 3: TJ is calculated from the ambient temperature TA and power
dissipation PD according to the following formula:
LTC3810: TJ = TA + (PD 100C/W)

15
10

LTC3810

LTC3810-5

LTC3812-5

Maximum VIN

100V

60V

60V

6.35V to 14V

4.5V to 14V

4.5V to 14V

6.2V

4.2V

4.2V

6V

4V

4V

INTVCC UV+
INTVCC

UV

V
mA

Note 4: The LTC3810 is tested in a feedback loop that servos VFB to the
reference voltage with the ITH pin forced to a voltage between 1V and 2V.
Note 5: The dynamic input supply current is higher due to the power
MOSFET gate charging being delivered at the switching frequency
(QG fOSC).
Note 6: Guaranteed by design. Not subject to test.
Note 7: This IC includes overtemperature protection that is intended
to protect the device during momentary overload conditions. Junction
temperature will exceed 125C when overtemperature protection is active.
Continuous operation above the specied maximum operating junction
temperature may impair device reliability.
Note 8: ICC is the sum of current into NDRV and INTVCC.

PARAMETER
MOSFET Gate Drive

3810fc

LTC3810
TYPICAL PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS
Load Transient Response

Short-Circuit/
Fault Timeout Operation

Start-Up
INTVCC
5V/DIV

VOUT
100mV/
DIV

VOUT
10V/DIV

INTVCC

VOUT
5V/DIV

SS/TRACK
4V/DIV

VIN
50V/DIV

IOUT
5A/DIV

IL
5A/DIV

IL
5A/DIV
3810 G01

50s/DIV
VIN = 48V
0A TO 5A LOAD STEP
FRONT PAGE CIRCUIT

3810 G02

VIN = 48V
500s/DIV
ILOAD = 1A
MODE/SYNC = 0V
FRONT PAGE CIRCUIT

Short-Circuit/
Foldback Operation

Tracking

VOUT
5V/DIV

VFB
0.5V/
DIV

3810 G04

200s/DIV
VIN = 48V
FRONT PAGE CIRCUIT

VFB

ITH
0.5V/DIV
IL
2A/DIV

Efciency vs Load Current

Efciency vs Input Voltage

Frequency vs Input Voltage

100

280

IOUT = 5A
95

IOUT = 0.5A

80

VIN = 12V

10

20

50
40
30
60
INPUT VOLTAGE (V)

70

80

3810 G07

VIN = 60V

270

90
85
80
VOUT = 5V
Si7850 MOSFETs
MODE/SYNC = INTVCC
f = 250kHz

75
f = 250kHz
FRONT PAGE CIRCUIT

VIN = 36V

FREQUENCY (kHz)

EFFICIENCY (%)

90

70

3810 G06

VIN = 48V
20s/DIV
IOUT = 100mA
MODE/SYNC = INTVCC
FRONT PAGE CIRCUIT

3810 G05

VIN = 48V
500s/DIV
ILOAD = 1A
MODE/SYNC = 0V
FRONT PAGE CIRCUIT

100

EFFICIENCY (%)

SS/TRACK

VOUT
100mV/
DIV

SS/TRACK
0.5V/DIV
VFB
0.5V/DIV
IL
5A/DIV

IL
5A/DIV

3810 G03

Pulse Skip Mode Operation

VOUT
5V/DIV

70

VIN = 48V
10ms/DIV
RSHORT = 0.1
FRONT PAGE CIRCUIT

2
3
4
5
LOAD CURRENT (A)

IOUT = 0A

260

IOUT = 5A

250

240

7
3810 G08

230

MODE/SYNC = 0V
FRONT PAGE CIRCUIT
10

20

50
40
30
60
INPUT VOLTAGE (V)

70

80

3810 G09

3810fc

LTC3810
TYPICAL PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS
Current Sense Threshold
vs ITH Voltage

Frequency vs Load Current


350

400

300

300

On-Time vs ION Current


10000

VON = INTVCC

FORCED
CONTINUOUS

250
200
150
PULSE SKIP
100
50

1.4V

200

1V
0.7V
0.5V

100
0
100

100

200
300

FRONT PAGE CIRCUIT


1

400

1
1.5
2
ITH VOLTAGE (V)

0.5

LOAD CURRENT (A)


3810 G10

ION = 300A

600

ON-TIME (ns)

ON-TIME (ns)

500
400
300

ION = 300A

640
620
600

200

580

100

560
50 25

0
2
1.5
1
VON VOLTAGE (V)

2.5

50
25
75
0
TEMPERATURE (C)

Maximum Current Sense


Threshold vs VRNG Voltage

100

1.5

100

125

250

VRNG VOLTAGE (V)


3810 G16

VRNG = INTVCC

200

150

100

50

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

VFB (V)
38125 G15

230

Feedback Reference Voltage


vs Temperature
0.803

VRNG = INTVCC
0.802

220

REFERENCE VOLTAGE (V)

MAXIMUM CURRENT SENSE THRESHOLD (mV)

200

0
0.5

3810 G12

Maximum Current Sense


Threshold vs Temperature

300

10000

3810 G14

3810 G13

400

100
1000
ION CURRENT (A)

Current Limit Foldback

660

0.5

10

On-Time vs Temperature
680

10

3
3810 G11

On-Time vs VON Voltage


700

2.5

MAXIMUM CURRENT SENSE THRESHOLD (mV)

MAXIMUM CURRENT SENSE THRESHOLD (mV)

1000

ON-TIME (ns)

CURRENT SENSE THRESHOLD (mV)

FREQUENCY (kHz)

VRNG = 2V

210

200

190

180
50

0.801
0.800
0.799
0.798

25

50
0
75
25
TEMPERATURE (C)

100

125

3810 G17

0.797
50

25

50
25
0
75
TEMPERATURE (C)

100

125

3810 G18

3810fc

LTC3810
TYPICAL PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS
Driver Peak Source Current
vs Temperature
2.5

Driver Pull-Down RDS(ON)


vs Temperature
1.50

VBOOST = VINTVCC = 10V

Driver Peak Source Current


vs Supply Voltage
3.0

VBOOST = VINTVCC = 10V


PEAK SOURCE CURRENT (A)

1.00

2.0
RDS(ON) ()

PEAK SOURCE CURRENT (A)

1.25

0.75
0.50

1.5

0.25
1
50

25

0
25
50
75
TEMPERATURE (C)

100

2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5

0
50 25

125

2.5

50
25
75
0
TEMPERATURE (C)

100

125

8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
7
DRVCC/BOOST VOLTAGE (V)

3810 G20

3810 G19

3810 G21

EXTVCC LDO Resistance at


Dropout vs Temperature

Driver Pull-Down RDS(ON)


vs Supply Voltage

INTVCC Current vs Temperature


4

14

1.1

12

0.8

INTVCC CURRENT (mA)

RESISTANCE ()

0.9

10
8
6
4

0.7

8
9 10 11 12 13
DRVCC/BOOST VOLTAGE (V)

14

15

0
50

25

50
75
25
TEMPERATURE (C)

100

125

0
50

25

50
25
0
75
TEMPERATURE (C)

3810 G23

3810 G22

INTVCC Shutdown Current


vs Temperature

100

125

3810 G24

INTVCC Current vs INTVCC Voltage

400

4.0
3.5

300

INTVCC CURRENT (mA)

0.6

INTVCC CURRENT (A)

RDS(ON) ()

1.0

200

100

3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5

0
50

25

75
50
25
TEMPERATURE (C)

100

125

3810 G25

0
0

8
6
10
4
INTVCC VOLTAGE (V)

12

14

3810 G26

3810fc

LTC3810
TYPICAL PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS
INTVCC Shutdown Current
vs INTVCC Voltage

SS/TRACK Pull-Up Current


vs Temperature
3

300

SS/TRACK CURRENT (A)

INTVCC CURRENT (A)

250
200
150
100

50
0
50 25

0
0

8
6
10
4
INTVCC VOLTAGE (V)

12

14

50
25
75
0
TEMPERATURE (C)

125

3810 G28

3810 G27

ITH Voltage
vs Load Current

Shutdown Threshold
vs Temperature
2.2

3.0

2.0
SHUTDOWN THRESHOLD (V)

2.5
ITH VOLTAGE (V)

100

2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0
1

4
3
5
2
LOAD CURRENT (A)

1.6
1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8

VRNG = 0V
FRONT PAGE CIRCUIT
0

1.8

7
3810 G29

0.6
50 25

75
50
25
TEMPERATURE (C)

100

125

3810 G30

3810fc

LTC3810
PIN FUNCTIONS
ION (Pin 1): On-Time Current Input. Tie a resistor from VIN
to this pin to set the one-shot timer current and thereby
set the switching frequency.
VON (Pin 4): On-Time Voltage Input. Voltage trip point for
the on-time comparator. Tying this pin to the output voltage
or an external resistive divider from the output makes the
on-time proportional to VOUT. The comparator defaults to
0.7V when the pin is grounded and defaults to 2.4V when
the pin is connected to INTVCC. Tie this pin to INTVCC in
high VOUT applications to use a lower RON value.
VRNG (Pin 5): Sense Voltage Limit Set. The voltage at this
pin sets the nominal sense voltage at maximum output
current and can be set from 0.5V to 2V by a resistive
divider from INTVCC. The nominal sense voltage defaults
to 95mV when this pin is tied to ground, and 215mV when
tied to INTVCC.
PGOOD (Pin 6): Power Good Output. Open-drain logic
output that is pulled to ground when the output voltage
is not between 10% of the regulation point. The output
voltage must be out of regulation for at least 120s before
the power good output is pulled to ground.
MODE/SYNC (Pin 7): Pulse Skip Mode Enable/Sync Pin.
This multifunction pin provides pulse skip mode enable/
disable control and an external clock input to the phase
detector. Pulling this pin below 0.8V or to an external
logic-level synchronization signal disables pulse skip mode
operation and forces continuous operation. Pulling this
pin above 0.8V enables pulse skip mode operation. For a
clock input, the phase-locked loop will force the rising top
gate signal to be synchronized with the rising edge of the
clock signal.This pin can also be connected to a feedback
resistor divider from a secondary winding on the inductor
to regulate a second output voltage.
ITH (Pin 8): Error Amplier Compensation Point and Current Control Threshold. The current comparator threshold
increases with control voltage. The voltage ranges from
0V to 2.6V with 1.2V corresponding to zero sense voltage
(zero current).
VFB (Pin 9): Feedback Input. Connect VFB through a resistor
divider network to VOUT to set the output voltage.

PLL/LPF (Pin 10): The phase-locked loops lowpass lter


is tied to this pin. The voltage at this pin defaults to 1.2V
when the IC is not synchronized with an external clock at
the MODE/SYNC pin.
SS/TRACK (Pin 11): Soft-Start/Tracking Input. For softstart, a capacitor to ground at this pin sets the ramp rate of
the output voltage (approximately 0.6s/F). For coincident
or ratiometric tracking, connect this pin to a resistive divider
between the voltage to be tracked and ground.
SGND (Pin 12): Signal Ground. All small-signal components should connect to this ground and eventually connect
to PGND at one point.
SHDN (Pin 13): Shutdown Pin. Pulling this pin below 1.5V
will shut down the LTC3810, turn off both of the external
MOSFET switches and reduce the quiescent supply current to 240A.
UVIN (Pin 14): UVLO Input. This pin is input to the internal
UVLO and is compared to an internal 0.8V reference. An
external resistor divider is connected to this pin and the
input supply to program the undervoltage lockout voltage.
When UVIN is less than 0.8V, the LTC3810 is shut down.
NDRV (Pin 15): Drive Output for External Pass Device of
the Linear Regulator for INTVCC. Connect to the gate of
an external NMOS pass device and a pull-up resistor to
the input voltage VIN.
EXTVCC (Pin 16): External Driver Supply Voltage. When
this voltage exceeds 6.7V, an internal switch connects
this pin to INTVCC through an LDO and turns off the external MOSFET connected to NDRV, so that controller and
gate drive are drawn from EXTVCC.
INTVCC (Pin 17): Main Supply Pin. All internal circuits
except the output drivers are powered from this pin.
INTVCC should be bypassed to ground (Pin 10) with at
least a 0.1F capacitor in close proximity to the LTC3810.
DRVCC (Pin 18): Driver Supply Pin. DRVCC supplies power
to the BG output driver. This pin is normally connected to
INTVCC. DRVCC should be bypassed to BGRTN (Pin 20)
with a low ESR (X5R or better) 1F capacitor in close
proximity to the LTC3810.

3810fc

LTC3810
PIN FUNCTIONS
BG (Pin 19): Bottom Gate Drive. The BG pin drives the
gate of the bottom N-channel synchronous switch MOSFET.
This pin swings from BGRTN to DRVCC.
BGRTN (Pin 20): Bottom Gate Return. This pin connects to
the source of the pull-down MOSFET in the BG driver and
is normally connected to ground. Connecting a negative
supply to this pin allows the synchronous MOSFET s gate
to be pulled below ground to help prevent false turn-on
during high dV/dt transitions on the SW node. See the
Applications Information section for more details.
SENSE+, SENSE (Pin 25, Pin 21): Current Sense Comparator Input. The (+) input to the current comparator is
normally connected to SW unless using a sense resistor.
The () input is used to accurately kelvin sense the bottom
side of the sense resistor or MOSFET.

SW (Pin 26): Switch Node Connection to Inductor and


Bootstrap Capacitor. Voltage swing at this pin is from a
Schottky diode (external) voltage drop below ground
to VIN.
TG (Pin 27): Top Gate Drive. The TG pin drives the gate of
the top N-channel synchronous switch MOSFET. The TG
driver draws power from the BOOST pin and returns to the
SW pin, providing true oating drive to the top MOSFET.
BOOST (Pin 28): Top Gate Driver Supply. The BOOST pin
supplies power to the oating TG driver. BOOST should
be bypassed to SW with a low ESR (X5R or better) 0.1F
capacitor. An additional fast recovery Schottky diode from
DRVCC to the BOOST pin will create a complete oating
charge-pumped supply at BOOST.

3810fc

10

LTC3810
FUNCTIONAL DIAGRAM
EXTVCC NDRV INTVCC

INTVCC

0.8V
REF

5V
REG

VIN

INTVCC
MODE
LOGIC

10V

NDRV
M3

15

VIN
RUV1

12V

UVIN

14

INTVCC

INTVCC
UV

VIN UV

RUV2

200A

OFF

6.2V

17
EXTVCC

16

0.8V

MODE/SYNC

270A

10V

ON

1.4A

PLL-SYNC

10

PLL/LPF

+
VON
4

100nA

RON
VIN

ION
tON =

VVON
(76pF)
IION

R
S

20k

6.7V

TG
FCNT

CB
M1

27
SW
26

ICMP

SENSE+

SWITCH
LOGIC

IREV

L1
VOUT

25
DRVCC

CIN

28

ON

BOOST

TIMEOUT
LOGIC
DRV OFF

VIN

DB

18

SHDN

BG

OV

CVCC

19

M2

BGRTN

20

COUT

SENSE

1.4V

21

OVERTEMP
SENSE

VRNG

PGOOD

ITH

FOLDBACK

RFB1

FB
ITH

0.7V

4V

8
RC

2.6V

VFB
9

CC1

FAULT
EA

RUN
SHDN

+ +

CC2

0.72V

UV

0.8V

RFB2
SGND
12

OV

0.88V

1.5V
SS/TRACK
11

SHDN
13

3810 FD

3810fc

11

LTC3810
OPERATION
Main Control Loop
The LTC3810 is a current mode controller for DC/DC stepdown converters. In normal operation, the top MOSFET
is turned on for a xed interval determined by a one-shot
timer (OST). When the top MOSFET is turned off, the bottom MOSFET is turned on until the current comparator
ICMP trips, restarting the one-shot timer and initiating the
next cycle. Inductor current is determined by sensing the
voltage between the SENSE and SENSE+ pins using a
sense resistor or the bottom MOSFET on-resistance. The
voltage on the ITH pin sets the comparator threshold corresponding to the inductor valley current. The fast 25MHz
error amplier EA adjusts this voltage by comparing the
feedback signal VFB to the internal 0.8V reference voltage. If the load current increases, it causes a drop in the
feedback voltage relative to the reference. The ITH voltage
then rises until the average inductor current again matches
the load current.
The operating frequency is determined implicitly by the top
MOSFET on-time and the duty cycle required to maintain
regulation. The one-shot timer generates an on time that is
proportional to the ideal duty cycle, thus holding frequency
approximately constant with changes in VIN. The nominal
frequency can be adjusted with an external resistor RON.
For applications with stringent constant frequency requirements, the LTC3810 can be synchronized with an
external clock. By programming the nominal frequency
the same as the external clock frequency, the LTC3810

behaves as a constant frequency part against the load and


supply variations.
Pulling the SHDN pin low forces the controller into its
shutdown state, turning off both M1 and M2. Forcing a
voltage above 1.5V will turn on the device.
Pulse Skip Mode
The LTC3810 can operate in one of two modes selectable
with the MODE/SYNC pinpulse skip mode or forced
continuous mode (see Figure 1). Pulse skip mode is selected when increased efciency at light loads is desired
(see Figure 2). In this mode, the bottom MOSFET is turned
off when inductor current reverses to minimize efciency
loss due to reverse current ow and gate charge switching.
At low load currents, ITH will drop below the zero current
level (1.2V) shutting off both switches. Both switches will
remain off with the output capacitor supplying the load
current until the ITH voltage rises above the zero current
level to initiate another cycle. In this mode, frequency is
proportional to load current at light loads.
Pulse skip mode operation is disabled by comparator F
when the MODE/SYNC pin is brought below 0.8V, forcing
continuous synchronous operation. Forced continuous
mode is less efcient due to resistive losses, but has the
advantage of better transient response at low currents,
approximately constant frequency operation, and the ability
to maintain regulation when sinking current.
100
90 VIN = 75V

FORCED CONTINUOUS

0A

0A

80
EFFICIENCY (%)

DECREASING
LOAD CURRENT

PULSE SKIP MODE

VIN = 25V

VIN = 25V

70
60

VIN = 75V

50
40
30

0A

0A

20
PULSE SKIP MODE
FORCED CONTINUOUS

10
0A

3810 F01

0A

0
0.01

0.1

10

LOAD (A)
3810 F02

Figure 1. Comparison of Inductor Current Waveforms


for Pulse Skip Mode and Forced Continuous Operation

Figure 2. Efciency in Pulse Skip Mode


and Forced Continuous Mode

3810fc

12

LTC3810
OPERATION
Fault Monitoring/Protection
Constant on-time current mode architecture provides accurate cycle-by-cycle current limit protectiona feature
that is very important for protecting the high voltage power
supply from output short circuits. The cycle-by-cycle current monitor guarantees that the inductor current will never
exceed the value programmed on the VRNG pin.
Foldback current limiting provides further protection if the
output is shorted to ground. As VFB drops, the buffered
current threshold voltage ITHB is pulled down and clamped
to 1V. This reduces the inductor valley current level to
one-sixth of its maximum value as VFB approaches 0V.
Foldback current limiting is disabled at start-up.
Overvoltage and undervoltage comparators OV and UV
pull the PGOOD output low if the output feedback voltage
exits a 10% window around the regulation point after the
internal 120s power bad mask timer expires. Furthermore,
in an overvoltage condition, M1 is turned off and M2 is
turned on immediately and held on until the overvoltage
condition clears.
The LTC3810 provides two undervoltage lockout comparatorsone for the INTVCC/DRVCC supply and one for
the input supply VIN. The INTVCC UV threshold is 6.2V to
guarantee that the MOSFETs have sufcient gate drive voltage before turning on. The VIN UV threshold (UVIN pin) is
0.8V with 10% hysteresis which allows programming the
VIN threshold with the appropriate resistor divider connected to VIN. If either comparator inputs are under the
UV threshold, the LTC3810 is shut down and the drivers
are turned off.

skip mode operation, where it is possible that the bottom


MOSFET will be off for an extended period of time, an
internal timeout guarantees that the bottom MOSFET is
turned on at least once every 25s for one on-time period
to refresh the bootstrap capacitor.
The bottom driver has an additional feature that helps
minimize the possibility of external MOSFET shoot-through.
When the top MOSFET turns on, the switch node dV/dt
pulls up the bottom MOSFETs internal gate through the
Miller capacitance, even when the bottom driver is holding
the gate terminal at ground. If the gate is pulled up high
enough, shoot-through between the top side and bottom
side MOSFETs can occur. To prevent this from occurring,
the bottom driver return is brought out as a separate pin
(BGRTN) so that a negative supply can be used to reduce
the effect of the Miller pull-up. For example, if a 2V supply is used on BGRTN, the switch node dV/dt could pull
the gate up 2V before the VGS of the bottom MOSFET has
more than 0V across it.
VIN

DRVCC

LTC3810

DRVCC

DB

CIN

BOOST
TG

CB
M1
L

SW

VOUT

+
BG

COUT

M2

BGRTN
3810 F03

0V TO 5V

Figure 3. Floating TG Driver Supply and Negative BG Return

Strong Gate Drivers


The LTC3810 contains very low impedance drivers capable
of supplying amps of current to slew large MOSFET gates
quickly. This minimizes transition losses and allows paralleling MOSFETs for higher current applications. A 100V
oating high side driver drives the top side MOSFET and
a low side driver drives the bottom side MOSFET (see
Figure 3). The bottom side driver is supplied directly
from the DRVCC pin. The top MOSFET drivers are biased
from oating bootstrap capacitor, CB, which normally is
recharged during each off cycle through an external diode
from DRVCC when the top MOSFET turns off. In pulse

IC/Driver Supply Power


The LTC3810s internal control circuitry and top and bottom
MOSFET drivers operate from a supply voltage (INTVCC,
DRVCC pins) in the range of 6.2V to 14V. The LTC3810
has two integrated linear regulator controllers to easily
generate this IC/driver supply from either the high voltage
input or from the output voltage. For best efciency the
supply is derived from the input voltage during start-up
and then derived from the lower voltage output as soon
as the output is higher than 6.7V. Alternatively, the supply
can be derived from the input continuously if the output
3810fc

13

LTC3810
OPERATION
is < 6.7V or an external supply in the appropriate range
can be used. The LTC3810 will automatically detect which
mode is being used and operate properly.
The four possible operating modes for generating this
supply are summarized as follows (see Figure 4):
1. LTC3810 generates a 10V start-up supply from a small
external SOT23 N-channel MOSFET acting as linear
regulator with drain connected to VIN and gate controlled
by the LTC3810s internal linear regulator controller
through the NDRV pin. As soon as the output voltage
reaches 6.7V, the 10V IC/driver supply is derived from
the output through an internal low dropout regulator to
optimize efciency. If the output is lost due to a short,
the LTC3810 goes through repeated low duty cycle
soft-start cycles (with the drivers shut off in between)
to attempt to bring up the output without burning up
the SOT23 MOSFET. This scheme eliminates the long
start-up times associated with a conventional trickle
charger by using an external MOSFET to quickly charge
the IC/driver supply capacitors (CINTVCC, CDRVCC).

start-up. The MOSFET is sized for proper dissipation and


the driver shutdown/restart for VOUT < 6.7V is disabled.
This scheme is less efcient but may be necessary if
VOUT < 6.7V and a boost network is not desired.
3. Trickle charge mode provides an even simpler approach
by eliminating the external MOSFET. The IC/driver supply capacitors are charged through a single high valued
resistor connected to the input supply. When the INTVCC
voltage reaches the turn-on threshold of 12V (automatically raised from 6.7V to provide extra headroom for
start-up), the drivers turn on and begin charging up the
output capacitor. When the output reaches 6.7V, IC/driver
power is derived from the output. In trickle-charge mode,
the supply capacitors must have sufcient capacitance
such that they are not discharged below the 6V INTVCC
UV threshold before the output is high enough to take
over or else the power supply will not start.
4. Low voltage supply available. The simplest approach is if
a low voltage supply (between 6.2V and 14V) is available
and connected directly to the IC/driver supply pins.

2. Similar to (1) except that the external MOSFET is used


for continuous IC/driver power instead of just for
Mode 1: MOSFET for Start-Up Only

Mode 2: MOSFET for Continuous Use

VIN

VIN

I > 270A

I < 270A

NDRV

NDRV

INTVCC

10V

LTC3810

INTVCC

10V

LTC3810

VOUT (>6.7V)

EXTVCC

Mode 3: Trickle Charge Mode

VIN

EXTVCC

Mode 4: External Supply

NDRV
INTVCC

NDRV

LTC3810

EXTVCC

10V

INTVCC
LTC3810

VOUT

EXTVCC

+
+

6.2V to
14V
3810 F04

Figure 4. Operating Modes for IC/Driver Supply


3810fc

14

LTC3810
APPLICATIONS INFORMATION
The basic LTC3810 application circuit is shown on the rst
page of this data sheet. External component selection is
primarily determined by the maximum input voltage and
load current and begins with the selection of the sense
resistance and power MOSFET switches. The LTC3810
uses either a sense resistor or the on-resistance of the
synchronous power MOSFET for determining the inductor
current. The desired amount of ripple current and operating
frequency largely determines the inductor value. Next, CIN
is selected for its ability to handle the large RMS current
into the converter and COUT is chosen with low enough
ESR to meet the output voltage ripple and transient
specication. Finally, loop compensation components
are selected to meet the required transient/phase margin
specications.
Maximum Sense Voltage and VRNG Pin
Inductor current is determined by measuring the voltage across a sense resistance that appears between the
SENSE and SENSE+ pins. The maximum sense voltage
is set by the voltage applied to the VRNG pin and is equal
to approximately:
VSENSE(MAX) = 0.173VRNG 0.026
The current mode control loop will not allow the inductor
current valleys to exceed VSENSE(MAX)/RSENSE. In practice, one should allow some margin for variations in the
LTC3810 and external component values and a good guide
for selecting the sense resistance is:
RSENSE =

VSENSE(MAX)
1.3 IOUT(MAX)

the sense resistor. Using a sense resistor provides a well


dened current limit, but adds cost and reduces efciency.
Alternatively, one can eliminate the sense resistor and use
the bottom MOSFET as the current sense element by simply
connecting the SENSE+ pin to the lower MOSFET drain
and SENSE pin to the MOSFET source. This improves
efciency, but one must carefully choose the MOSFET
on-resistance, as discussed below.
Power MOSFET Selection
The LTC3810 requires two external N-channel power
MOSFETs, one for the top (main) switch and one for the
bottom (synchronous) switch. Important parameters for
the power MOSFETs are the breakdown voltage BVDSS,
threshold voltage V(GS)TH, on-resistance RDS(ON), input
capacitance and maximum current IDS(MAX).
When the bottom MOSFET is used as the current sense
element, particular attention must be paid to its on-resistance. MOSFET on-resistance is typically specied with
a maximum value RDS(ON)(MAX) at 25C. In this case,
additional margin is required to accommodate the rise in
MOSFET on-resistance with temperature:
RDS(ON)(MAX) =

RSENSE
T

The T term is a normalization factor (unity at 25C)


accounting for the signicant variation in on-resistance
with temperature (see Figure 5) and typically varies
from 0.4%/C to 1.0%/C depending on the particular
MOSFET used.

Connecting the SENSE+ and SENSE Pins


The LTC3810 can be used with or without a sense resistor. When using a sense resistor, place it between the
source of the bottom MOSFET, M2, and PGND. Connect
the SENSE+ and SENSE pins to the top and bottom of

T NORMALIZED ON-RESISTANCE

2.0

An external resistive divider from INTVCC can be used


to set the voltage of the VRNG pin between 0.5V and 2V
resulting in nominal sense voltages of 60mV to 320mV.
Additionally, the VRNG pin can be tied to SGND or INTVCC
in which case the nominal sense voltage defaults to 95mV
or 215mV, respectively.

1.5

1.0

0.5

0
50

50
100
0
JUNCTION TEMPERATURE (C)

150
3810 F05

Figure 5. RDS(ON) vs Temperature


3810fc

15

LTC3810
APPLICATIONS INFORMATION
The most important parameter in high voltage applications
is breakdown voltage BVDSS. Both the top and bottom
MOSFETs will see full input voltage plus any additional
ringing on the switch node across its drain-to-source during its off-time and must be chosen with the appropriate
breakdown specication. Since most MOSFETs in the 60V
to 100V range have higher thresholds (typically VGS(MIN)
6V), the LTC3810 is designed to be used with a 6.2V to
14V gate drive supply (DRVCC pin).
For maximum efciency, on-resistance RDS(ON) and input
capacitance should be minimized. Low RDS(ON) minimizes
conduction losses and low input capacitance minimizes
transition losses. MOSFET input capacitance is a combination of several components but can be taken from the
typical gate charge curve included on most data sheets
(Figure 6).
VIN

VGS

MILLER EFFECT
a

b
QIN

CMILLER = (QB QA)/VDS

VGS

+V
DS

3810 F06

Figure 6. Gate Charge Characteristic

The curve is generated by forcing a constant input current into the gate of a common source, current source
loaded stage and then plotting the gate voltage versus
time. The initial slope is the effect of the gate-to-source
and the gate-to-drain capacitance. The at portion of the
curve is the result of the Miller multiplication effect of the
drain-to-gate capacitance as the drain drops the voltage
across the current source load. The upper sloping line is
due to the drain-to-gate accumulation capacitance and
the gate-to-source capacitance. The Miller charge (the
increase in coulombs on the horizontal axis from a to b
while the curve is at) is specied for a given VDS drain
voltage, but can be adjusted for different VDS voltages by
multiplying by the ratio of the application VDS to the curve
specied VDS values. A way to estimate the CMILLER term
is to take the change in gate charge from points a and b
on a manufacturers data sheet and divide by the stated
VDS voltage specied. CMILLER is the most important selection criteria for determining the transition loss term in

the top MOSFET but is not directly specied on MOSFET


data sheets. CRSS and COS are specied sometimes but
denitions of these parameters are not included.
When the controller is operating in continuous mode the
duty cycles for the top and bottom MOSFETs are given by:
MainSwitchDutyCycle =

VOUT
VIN

SynchronousSwitchDutyCycle =

VIN VOUT
VIN

The power dissipation for the main and synchronous


MOSFETs at maximum output current are given by:
VOUT
2
IMAX ) (T )RDS(ON) +
(
VIN
I
VIN2 MAX (RDR )(CMILLER )
2

1 
1
+

 (f)
 VCC VTH(IL) VTH(IL) 
V V
PBOT = IN OUT (IMAX )2(T )RDS(0N)
VIN
PTOP =

where T is the temperature dependency of RDS(ON), RDR


is the effective top driver resistance (approximately 2 at
VGS = VMILLER), VIN is the drain potential and the change
in drain potential in the particular application. VTH(IL) is
the data sheet specied typical gate threshold voltage
specied in the power MOSFET data sheet at the specied
drain current. CMILLER is the calculated capacitance using
the gate charge curve from the MOSFET data sheet and
the technique described above.
Both MOSFETs have I2R losses while the topside N-channel
equation incudes an additional term for transition losses,
which peak at the highest input voltage. For high input
voltage low duty cycle applications that are typical for the
LTC3810, transition losses are the dominate loss term and
therefore using higher RDS(ON) device with lower CMILLER
usually provides the highest efciency. The synchronous
MOSFET losses are greatest at high input voltage when
the top switch duty factor is low or during a short circuit
when the synchronous switch is on close to 100% of
3810fc

16

LTC3810
APPLICATIONS INFORMATION
the period. Since there is no transition loss term in the
synchronous MOSFET, optimal efciency is obtained by
minimizing RDS(ON) by using larger MOSFETs or paralleling multiple MOSFETs.
Multiple MOSFETs can be used in parallel to lower
RDS(ON) and meet the current and thermal requirements
if desired. The LTC3810 contains large low impedance
drivers capable of driving large gate capacitances without
signicantly slowing transition times. In fact, when driving MOSFETs with very low gate charge, it is sometimes
helpful to slow down the drivers by adding small gate
resistors (10 or less) to reduce noise and EMI caused
by the fast transitions.
Operating Frequency
The choice of operating frequency is a tradeoff between
efciency and component size. Low frequency operation
improves efciency by reducing MOSFET switching losses
but requires larger inductance and/or capacitance in order
to maintain low output ripple voltage.
The operating frequency of LTC3810 applications is determined implicitly by the one-shot timer that controls
the on-time, tON, of the top MOSFET switch. The on-time
is set by the current out of the ION pin and the voltage at
the VON pin according to:
tON =

VVON
(76pF)
IION

Tying a resistor RON from VIN to the ION pin yields an


on-time inversely proportional to VIN. For a step-down
converter, this results in approximately constant frequency
operation as the input supply varies:
f=

VOUT
[H ]
VVON RON(76pF) Z

To hold frequency constant during output voltage changes,


tie the VON pin to VOUT or to a resistive divider from VOUT
when VOUT > 2.4V. The VON pin has internal clamps that
limit its input to the one-shot timer. If the pin is tied below
0.7V, the input to the one-shot is clamped at 0.7V. Similarly,
if the pin is tied above 2.4V, the input is clamped at 2.4V.
In high VOUT applications, tie VON to INTVCC. Figures 7a
and 7b show how RON relates to switching frequency for
several common output voltages.
Changes in the load current magnitude will cause frequency
shift. Parasitic resistance in the MOSFET switches and
inductor reduce the effective voltage across the inductance, resulting in increased duty cycle as the load current
increases. By lengthening the on-time slightly as current
increases, constant frequency operation can be maintained. This is accomplished with a resistive divider from
the ITH pin to the VON pin and VOUT. The values required
will depend on the parasitic resistances in the specic

1000

1000

VOUT = 3.3V

VOUT = 1.5V

VOUT = 2.5V

SWITCHING FREQUENCY (kHz)

SWITCHING FREQUENCY (kHz)

VOUT = 5V
VOUT = 12V

VOUT = 5V

VOUT = 3.3V

100

100
10

100
RON (k)

1000
3810 F07a

Figure 7a. Switching Frequency vs RON (VON = 0V)

10

100
RON (k)

1000
3810 F07b

Figure 7b. Switching Frequency vs RON (VON = INTVCC)


3810fc

17

LTC3810
APPLICATIONS INFORMATION
application. A good starting point is to feed about 25%
of the voltage change at the ITH pin to the VON pin as
shown in Figure 8. Place capacitance on the VON pin to
lter out the ITH variations at the switching frequency.
VON
CVON
0.01F

RVON2
30k

100k

LTC3810
ITH
3810 F08

Figure 8. Correcting Frequency Shift with Load Current Changes

Minimum Off-Time and Dropout Operation


The minimum off-time, tOFF(MIN), is the smallest amount
of time that the LTC3810 is capable of turning on the bottom MOSFET, tripping the current comparator and turning
the MOSFET back off. This time is generally about 250ns.
The minimum off-time limit imposes a maximum duty
cycle of tON/(tON + tOFF(MIN)). If the maximum duty cycle
is reached, due to a dropping input voltage for example,
then the output will drop out of regulation. The minimum
input voltage to avoid dropout is:
VIN(MIN) = VOUT

tON + tOFF(MIN)
tON

A plot of maximum duty cycle vs frequency is shown in


Figure 9.
2.0

SWITCHING FREQUENCY (MHz)

Given the desired input and output voltages, the inductor value and operating frequency determine the ripple
current:
V  V 
IL =  OUT   1 OUT 
VIN 
 f L 

RVON1
200k

INTVCC
10V

Inductor Selection

Lower ripple current reduces core losses in the inductor,


ESR losses in the output capacitors and output voltage
ripple. Highest efciency operation is obtained at low
frequency with small ripple current. However, achieving
this requires a large inductor. There is a tradeoff between
component size, efciency and operating frequency.
A reasonable starting point is to choose a ripple current
that is about 40% of IOUT(MAX). The largest ripple current
occurs at the highest VIN. To guarantee that ripple current
does not exceed a specied maximum, the inductance
should be chosen according to:
 V

VOUT 
OUT
L=
1


 f IL(MAX)   VIN(MAX) 
Once the value for L is known, the type of inductor must
be selected. High efciency converters generally cannot
afford the core loss found in low cost powdered iron cores,
forcing the use of more expensive ferrite, molypermalloy
or Kool M cores. A variety of inductors designed for
high current, low voltage applications are available from
manufacturers such as Sumida, Panasonic, Coiltronics,
Coilcraft and Toko.

1.5
DROPOUT
REGION

Schottky Diode D1 Selection

1.0

0.5

0
0

0.25
0.50
0.75
DUTY CYCLE (VOUT/VIN)

1.0
3810 F09

Figure 9. Maximum Switching Frequency vs Duty Cycle

The Schottky diode D1 shown in the front page schematic


conducts during the dead time between the conduction of
the power MOSFET switches. It is intended to prevent the
body diode of the bottom MOSFET from turning on and
storing charge during the dead time, which can cause a
modest (about 1%) efciency loss. The diode can be rated
for about one half to one fth of the full load current since
it is on for only a fraction of the duty cycle. In order for the

3810fc

18

LTC3810
APPLICATIONS INFORMATION
diode to be effective, the inductance between it and the
bottom MOSFET must be as small as possible, mandating
that these components be placed adjacently. The diode can
be omitted if the efciency loss is tolerable.
Input Capacitor Selection
In continuous mode, the drain current of the top MOSFET
is approximately a square wave of duty cycle VOUT/VIN
which must be supplied by the input capacitor. To prevent
large input transients, a low ESR input capacitor sized for
the maximum RMS current is given by:
1/2

VOUT  VIN
1
ICIN(RMS) IO(MAX)
V  V

IN

OUT

This formula has a maximum at VIN = 2VOUT, where IRMS =


IO(MAX)/2. This simple worst-case condition is commonly
used for design because even signicant deviations do not
offer much relief. Note that the ripple current ratings from
capacitor manufacturers are often based on only 2000
hours of life. This makes it advisable to further derate
the capacitor or to choose a capacitor rated at a higher
temperature than required. Several capacitors may also
be placed in parallel to meet size or height requirements
in the design.
Because tantalum and OS-CON capacitors are not available
in voltages above 30V, ceramics or aluminum electrolytics
must be used for regulators with input supplies above 30V.
Ceramic capacitors have the advantage of very low ESR
and can handle high RMS current, but ceramics with high
voltage ratings (> 50V) are not available with more than
a few microfarads of capacitance. Furthermore, ceramics have high voltage coefcients which means that the
capacitance values decrease even more when used at the
rated voltage. X5R and X7R type ceramics are recommended for their lower voltage and temperature coefcients. Another consideration when using ceramics is
their high Q which, if not properly damped, may result in
excessive voltage stress on the power MOSFETs. Aluminum electrolytics have much higher bulk capacitance, but
they have higher ESR and lower RMS current ratings.
A good approach is to use a combination of aluminum
electrolytics for bulk capacitance and ceramics for low ESR
and RMS current. If the RMS current cannot be handled

by the aluminum capacitors alone, when used together,


the percentage of RMS current that will be supplied by the
aluminum capacitor is reduced to approximately:
1
% IRMS,ALUM 
100%
2
1+ (8fCRESR )
where RESR is the ESR of the aluminum capacitor and C
is the overall capacitance of the ceramic capacitors. Using
an aluminum electrolytic with a ceramic also helps damp
the high Q of the ceramic, minimizing ringing.
Output Capacitor Selection
The selection of COUT is primarily determined by the ESR
required to minimize voltage ripple. The output ripple
(VOUT) is approximately equal to:

1 
VOUT  IL  ESR +
8fCOUT 

Since IL increases with input voltage, the output ripple
is highest at maximum input voltage. ESR also has a signicant effect on the load transient response. Fast load
transitions at the output will appear as voltage across the
ESR of COUT until the feedback loop in the LTC3810 can
change the inductor current to match the new load current
value. Typically, once the ESR requirement is satised the
capacitance is adequate for ltering and has the required
RMS current rating.
Manufacturers such as Nichicon, Nippon Chemi-Con
and Sanyo should be considered for high performance
throughhole capacitors. The OS-CON (organic semiconductor dielectric) capacitor available from Sanyo has the
lowest product of ESR and size of any aluminum electrolytic at a somewhat higher price. An additional ceramic
capacitor in parallel with OS-CON capacitors is recommended to reduce the effect of their lead inductance.
In surface mount applications, multiple capacitors placed
in parallel may be required to meet the ESR, RMS current
handling and load step requirements. Dry tantalum, special
polymer and aluminum electrolytic capacitors are available
in surface mount packages. Special polymer capacitors
offer very low ESR but have lower capacitance density
than other types. Tantalum capacitors have the highest
capacitance density but it is important to only use types
3810fc

19

LTC3810
APPLICATIONS INFORMATION
that have been surge tested for use in switching power
supplies. Several excellent surge-tested choices are the
AVX, TPS and TPSV or the KEMET T510 series. Aluminum
electrolytic capacitors have signicantly higher ESR, but
can be used in cost-driven applications providing that
consideration is given to ripple current ratings and longterm reliability. Other capacitor types include Panasonic
SP and Sanyo POSCAPs.
Output Voltage
The LTC3810 output voltage is set by a resistor divider
according to the following formula:
 R 
VOUT = 0.8V  1+ FB1 
 RFB2 
The external resistor divider is connected to the output as
shown in the Functional Diagram, allowing remote voltage
sensing. The resultant feedback signal is compared with
the internal precision 800mV voltage reference by the
error amplier. The internal reference has a guaranteed
tolerance of < 1%. Tolerance of the feedback resistors
will add additional error to the output voltage. 0.1% to
1% resistors are recommended.
Input Voltage Undervoltage Lockout
A resistor divider connected from the input supply to the
UVIN pin (see Functional Diagram) is used to program the
input supply undervoltage lockout thresholds. When the
rising voltage at UVIN reaches 0.88V, the LTC3810 turns
on, and when the falling voltage at UVIN drops below 0.8V,
the LTC3810 is shut downproviding 10% hysteresis.
The input voltage UVLO thresholds are set by the resistor
divider according to the following formulas:
 R 
VIN,FALLING = 0.8V  1+ UV1 
 RUV2 
and

 R 
VIN,RISING = 0.88V  1+ UV1 
 RUV2 

If input supply undervoltage lockout is not needed, it can


be disabled by connecting UVIN to INTVCC .

Top MOSFET Driver Supply (CB, DB)


An external bootstrap capacitor, CB, connected to the
BOOST pin supplies the gate drive voltage for the topside
MOSFET. This capacitor is charged through diode DB from
DRVCC when the switch node is low. When the top MOSFET
turns on, the switch node rises to VIN and the BOOST pin
rises to approximately VIN + INTVCC. The boost capacitor
needs to store about 100 times the gate charge required
by the top MOSFET. In most applications 0.1F to 0.47F,
X5R or X7R dielectric capacitor is adequate.
The reverse breakdown of the external diode, DB, must
be greater than VIN(MAX). Another important consideration
for the external diode is the reverse recovery and reverse
leakage, either of which may cause excessive reverse
current to ow at full reverse voltage. If the reverse current times reverse voltage exceeds the maximum allowable power dissipation, the diode may be damaged. For
best results, use an ultrafast recovery diode such as the
MMDL770T1.
Bottom MOSFET Driver Return Supply (BGRTN)
The bottom gate driver, BG, switches from DRVCC to
BGRTN where BGRTN can be a voltage between ground
and 5V. Why not just keep it simple and always connect
BGRTN to ground? In high voltage switching converters,
the switch node dV/dt can be many volts/ns, which will
pull up on the gate of the bottom MOSFET through its
Miller capacitance. If this Miller current, times the internal
gate resistance of the MOSFET plus the driver resistance,
exceeds the threshold of the FET, shoot-through will occur. By using a negative supply on BGRTN, the BG can be
pulled below ground when turning the bottom MOSFET off.
This provides a few extra volts of margin before the gate
reaches the turn-on threshold of the MOSFET. Be aware
that the maximum voltage difference between DRVCC and
BGRTN is 14V. If, for example, VBGRTN = 2V, the maximum
voltage on DRVCC pin is now 12V instead of 14V.
IC/MOSFET Driver Supplies (INTVCC and DRVCC)
The LTC3810 drivers are supplied from the DRVCC and
BOOST pins (see Figure 3), which have an absolute maximum voltage of 14V. Since the main supply voltage, VIN
3810fc

20

LTC3810
APPLICATIONS INFORMATION
is typically much higher than 14V a separate supply for
the IC power (INTVCC) and driver power (DRVCC) must
be used. The LTC3810 has integrated bias supply control
circuitry that allows the IC/driver supply to be easily
generated from VIN and/or VOUT with minimal external
components. There are four ways to do this as shown in
the simplied schematics of Figure 4 and explained in the
following sections.

from overheating. Soft-start cycles are then attempted at


low duty cycle intervals to try to bring the output back up
(see Figure 10). This fault timeout operation is enabled
by choosing the choosing RNDRV such that the resistor
current INDRV is greater than 270A by using the following formulas:

Using the Linear Regulator for INTVCC/DRVCC Supply

where
ICC = (f) QG(TOP) + QG(BOTTOM) + 3mA

In Mode 1, a small external SOT23 MOSFET, controlled by


the NDRV pin, is used to generate a 10V start-up supply
from VIN. The small SOT23 package can be used because
the NMOS is on continuously only during the brief start-up
period. As soon as the output voltage reaches 6.7V, the
LTC3810 turns off the external NMOS and the LTC3810
regulates the 10V supply from the EXTVCC pin (connected
to VOUT or a VOUT derived boost network) through an
internal low dropout regulator. For this mode to work
properly, EXTVCC must be in the range 6.7V < EXTVCC <
15V. If VOUT < 6.7V, a charge pump or extra winding can
be used to raise EXTVCC to the proper voltage, or alternatively, Mode 2 should be used as explained later in this
section. If VOUT is shorted or otherwise goes below the
minimum 6.5V threshold, the MOSFET connected to VIN
is turned back on to maintain the 10V supply. However if
the output cannot be brought up within a timeout period,
the drivers are turned off to prevent the SOT23 MOSFET
FAULT TIMEOUT
ENABLED
SS/TRACK

RNDRV 

PMOSFET(MAX) / ICC  VTH


270A

and VTH is the threshold voltage of the MOSFET.


The value of R NDRV also affects the V IN(MIN) as
follows:
VIN(MIN) = VINTVCC(MIN) + (40A) RNDRV +VT

(1)

where VINTVCC(MIN) is normally 6V for driving 60V to 100V


MOSFETs. If minimum VIN is not low enough, consider
reducing RNDRV and/or using a darlington NPN instead of
an NMOS to reduce VT to ~1.4V.
When using RNDRV equal to the computed value, the
LTC3810 will enable the low duty cycle soft-start retries
only when the desired maximum power dissipation,
PMOSFET(MAX), in the MOSFET is exceeded and leave the
drivers on continuously otherwise. The shutoff/restart
times are a function of the TRACK/SS capacitor value.

DRIVER OFF THRESHOLD


DRIVER POWER
FROM VOUT

DRIVER POWER
FROM VIN

ISS/TRACK = 1.4MA (SOURCE)


DRIVER POWER
FROM VIN

START-UP

ISS/TRACK = 0.1MA (SINK)

EXTVCC UV THRESHOLD

VOUT
SHORT-CIRCUIT EVENT

START-UP INTO SHORT-CIRCUIT

TG/BG
3810 F10

Figure 10. Fault Timeout Operation

3810fc

21

LTC3810
APPLICATIONS INFORMATION
The external NMOS for the linear regulator should be a
standard 3V threshold type (i.e., not a logic level threshold).
The rate of charge of INTVCC from 0V to 10V is controlled
by the LTC3810 to be approximately 75s regardless of
the size of the capacitor connected to the INTVCC pin. The
charging current for this capacitor is approximately:
 10V
IC = 
 75s


 CINTVCC

The safe operating area (SOA) for the external NMOS


should be chosen so that capacitor charging does not
damage the NMOS. Excessive values of capacitor are
unnecessary and should be avoided. Typically values in
the 1F to 10F work well.
One more design requirement for this mode is the minimum
soft-start capacitor value. The fault timeout is enabled
when SS/TRACK voltage is greater than 4V. This gives the
power supply time to bring the output up before it starts
the timeout sequence. To prevent timeout sequence from
starting prematurely during start-up, a minimum CSS value
is necessary to ensure that VSS/TRACK < 4V until VEXTVCC
> 6.7V. To ensure this, choose:
CSS > COUT (2.3 106)/IOUT(MAX)
Mode 2 should be used if VOUT is outside of the 6.7V <
EXTVCC < 15V operating range and the extra complexity
of a charge pump or extra inductor winding is not wanted
to boost this voltage above 6.7V. In this mode, EXTVCC is
grounded and the NMOS is chosen to handle the worstcase power dissipation:

) (

PMOSFET = VIN(MAX) ( f ) QG(TOP) + QG(BOTTOM) + 3mA 





To operate properly, the fault timeout operation must be


disabled by choosing

If the required RNDRV value results in an unacceptable


value for VIN(MIN) (see Equation 1), fault timeout operation
can also be disabled by connecting a 500k to 2M resistor
from the SS/TRACK pin to INTVCC.
Using Trickle Charge Mode
Trickle charge mode is selected by shorting NDRV and
INTVCC and connecting EXTVCC to VOUT. Trickle charge
mode has the advantage of not requiring an external
MOSFET but takes longer to start up due to slow charge
up of CINTVCC and CDRVCC through RPULLUP (tDELAY = 0.77
RPULLUP CDRVCC) and usually requires larger INTVCC/
DRVCC capacitor values to hold up the supply voltage during start-up. Once the INTVCC/DRVCC voltage reaches the
trickle charge UV threshold of 12V, the drivers will turn on
and start discharging CINTVCC/CDRVCC at a rate determined
by the driver current IG. In order to ensure proper startup, CINTVCC/CDRVCC must be chosen large enough so that
the EXTVCC voltage reaches the switchover threshold of
6.7V before CINTVCC/CDRVCC discharges below the falling
UV threshold of 6V. This is ensured if:
CINTVCC + CDRVCC >IG

5.5 105 CSS 
COUT
or
 L arger of

IMAX
VOUT(REG) 

where IG is the gate drive current = (f)(QG(TOP) + QG(BOTTOM))
and IMAX is the maximum inductor current selected by
VRNG.
For RPULLUP , the value should fall in the following range
to ensure proper start-up:
Min RPULLUP > (VIN(MAX)14V)/ICCSR
Max RPULLUP < (VIN(MIN)12V)/IQ,SHUTDOWN

RNDRV > (VIN(MAX) 10V VTH)/270A

3810fc

22

LTC3810
APPLICATIONS INFORMATION
Using an External Supply Connected to the INTVCC/
DRVCC Pins
If an external supply is available between 6.2V and 14V,
the supply can be connected directly to the INTVCC/DRVCC
pins. In this mode, INTVCC, EXTVCC and NDRV must be
shorted together.
INTVCC/DRVCC Supply and the EXTVCC Connection
The LTC3810 contains an internal low dropout regulator to
produce the 10V INTVCC/DRVCC supply from the EXTVCC
pin voltage. This regulator turns on when the EXTVCC pin
is above 6.7V and remains on until EXTVCC drops below
6.4V. This allows the IC/MOSFET power to be derived from
the output or an output derived boost network during
normal operation and from the external NMOS from VIN
during start-up or short-circuit. Using the EXTVCC pin in
this way results in signicant efciency gains compared
to what would be possible when deriving this power
continuously from the typically much higher VIN voltage.
The EXTVCC connection also allows the power supply to
be congured in trickle charge mode in which it starts up
with a high valued bleed resistor connected from VIN
to INTVCC to charge up the INTVCC capacitor. As soon as
the output rises above 6.7V the internal EXTVCC regulator
takes over before the INTVCC capacitor discharges below
the UV threshold. When the EXTVCC regulator is active,
the EXTVCC pin can supply up to 50mA RMS. Do not apply more than 15V to the EXTVCC pin. The following list
summarizes the possible connections for EXTVCC:
1. EXTVCC grounded. This connection will require INTVCC
to be powered continuously from an external NMOS
from VIN resulting in an efciency penalty as high as
10% at high input voltages.

2. EXTVCC connected directly to VOUT. This is the normal


connection for 6.7V < VOUT < 15V and provides the
highest efciency. The power supply will start up using
an external NMOS or a bleed resistor until the output
supply is available.
3. EXTVCC connected to an output-derived boost network.
If VOUT < 6.7V. The low voltage output can be boosted
using a charge pump or yback winding to greater
than 6.7V.
4. EXTVCC connected to INTVCC. This is the required
connection for EXTVCC if INTVCC is connected to an
external supply where the external supply is 6.2V <
VEXT < 15V.
Applications using large MOSFETs with a high input voltage and high frequency of operation may result in a large
EXTVCC pin current. Therefore, it is good design practice
to verify that the maximum junction temperature rating
and RMS current rating are within the maximum limits.
Typically, most of the EXTVCC current consists of the
MOSFET gates current. In continuous mode operation,
this EXTVCC current is:

IEXTVCC = f QG(TOP) + QG(BOTTOM) + 3mA < 50mA


The junction temperature can be estimated from the
equations given in Note 2 of the Electrical Characteristics
as follows:
TJ = TA + IEXTVCC (VEXTVCC VINTVCC)(100C/W)
< 125C
If absolute maximum ratings are exceeded, consider
using an external supply connected directly to the
INTVCC pin.

3810fc

23

LTC3810
APPLICATIONS INFORMATION

C2
IN

C1

R2
R1
FB

6dB/OCT
GAIN

6dB/OCT

OUT

RB

FREQ

VREF

90
180

PHASE

270
360
3810 F11

Figure 11. Type 2 Schematic and Transfer Function

IN

C2
C3
R1

R3
FB

R2

C1

6dB/OCT

GAIN
OUT

RB
VREF

PHASE (DEG)

So far, the AC response of the loop is pretty well out of the


users control. The modulator is a fundamental piece of
the LTC3810 design and the external output capacitor is
usually chosen based on the regulation and load current
requirements without considering the AC loop response.
The feedback amplier, on the other hand, gives us a
handle with which to adjust the AC response. The goal is
to have 180 phase shift at DC (so the loop regulates), and
something less than 360 phase shift (preferably about
300) at the point that the loop gain falls to 0dB, i.e., the
crossover frequency, with as much gain as possible at
frequencies below the crossover frequency. Since the
modulator/output lter is a rst order system with maximum of 90 phase shift (at frequencies below fSW/4) and
the feedback amplier adds another 90 of phase shift,
some phase boost is required at the crossover frequency
to achieve good phase margin. If the ESR zero is below the

The two types of compensation networks, Type 2 and


Type 3 are shown in Figures 11 and 12. When component values are chosen properly, these networks provide
a phase bump at the crossover frequency. Type 2 uses
a single pole-zero pair to provide up to about 60 of phase
boost while Type 3 uses two poles and two zeros to provide
up to 150 of phase boost.
PHASE (DEG)

In a typical LTC3810 circuit, the feedback loop consists


of the modulator, the output lter and load, and the
feedback amplier with its compensation network. All of
these components affect loop behavior and must be accounted for in the loop compensation. The modulator and
output lter consists of the internal current comparator,
the output MOSFET drivers and the external MOSFETs,
inductor and output capacitor. Current mode control
eliminates the effect of the inductor by moving it to the
inner loop, reducing it to a rst order system. From a
feedback loop point of view, it looks like a linear voltage
controlled current source from ITH to VOUT and has a gain
equal to (IMAXROUT)/1.2V. It has fairly benign AC behavior
at typical loop compensation frequencies with signicant
phase shift appearing at half the switching frequency. The
external output capacitor and load cause a rst order roll
off at the output at the ROUTCOUT pole frequency, with
the attendant 90 phase shift. This roll off is what lters
the PWM waveform, resulting in the desired DC output
voltage. The output capacitor also contributes a zero at
the COUTRESR frequency which adds back the 90 phase
and cancels the rst order roll off.

GAIN (dB)

Feedback Loop Types

crossover frequency, this zero may provide enough phase


boost to achieve the desired phase margin and the only
requirement of the compensation will be to guarantee that
the gain is below zero at frequencies above fSW/4. If the
ESR zero is above the crossover frequency, the feedback
amplier will probably be required to provide phase boost.
For most LTC3810 applications, Type 2 compensation will
provide enough phase boost; however some applications
where high bandwidth is required with low ESR ceramics
and lots of bulk capacitance, Type 3 compensation may
be necessary to provide additional phase boost.

GAIN (dB)

FEEDBACK LOOP/COMPENSATION

+6dB/OCT

6dB/OCT

FREQ

90
PHASE

180
270
360
3810 F12

Figure 12. Type 3 Schematic and Transfer Function

3810fc

24

LTC3810
APPLICATIONS INFORMATION
Feedback Component Selection
Selecting the R and C values for a typical Type 2 or Type 3
loop is a nontrivial task. The applications shown in this
data sheet show typical values, optimized for the power
components shown. They should give acceptable performance with similar power components, but can be way off if
even one major power component is changed signicantly.
Applications that require optimized transient response will
require recalculation of the compensation values specically for the circuit in question. The underlying mathematics
are complex, but the component values can be calculated
in a straightforward manner if we know the gain and phase
of the modulator at the crossover frequency.
Modulator gain and phase can be obtained in one of
three ways: measured directly from a breadboard, or if
the appropriate parasitic values are known, simulated or
generated from the modulator transfer function. Measurement will give more accurate results, but simulation
or transfer function can often get close enough to give
a working system. To measure the modulator gain and
phase directly, wire up a breadboard with an LTC3810
and the actual MOSFETs, inductor and input and output
capacitors that the nal design will use. This breadboard
should use appropriate construction techniques for high
speed analog circuitry: bypass capacitors located close
to the LTC3810, no long wires connecting components,
appropriately sized ground returns, etc. Wire the feedback
amplier with a 0.1F feedback capacitor from ITH to FB
and a 10k to 100k resistor from VOUT to FB. Choose the
bias resistor (RB) as required to set the desired output
voltage. Disconnect RB from ground and connect it to
a signal generator or to the source output of a network
analyzer to inject a test signal into the loop. Measure the
gain and phase from the ITH pin to the output node at the
positive terminal of the output capacitor. Make sure the
analyzers input is AC coupled so that the DC voltages
present at both the ITH and VOUT nodes dont corrupt the
measurements or damage the analyzer.

If breadboard measurement is not practical, a SPICE


simulation can be used to generate approximate gain/
phase curves. Plug the expected capacitor, inductor
and MOSFET values into the following SPICE deck and
generate an AC plot of VOUT / VITH with gain in dB and
phase in degrees. Refer to your SPICE manual for details
of how to generate this plot.
*3810 modulator gain/phase
*2006 Linear Technology
*this file simulates a simplified model of
*the LTC3810 for generating a v(out)/v(ith)
*bode plot
.param rdson=.0135 ;MOSFET rdson
.param Vrng=2
;use 1.4 for INTVCC and
0.7
.param
.param
.param

for ground
vsnsmax={0.173*Vrng-0.026}
Imax={vsnsmax/rdson}
DL=4
;inductor ripple current

*inductor current
gl out 0 value={(v(ith)-1.2)*Imax/1.2+DL/2}
*output cap
cout out out2 270u ;capacitor value
resr out2 0 0.018 ;capacitor ESR
*load
Rout out 0 2 ; load resistor
vstim ith 0 0 ac 1 ;ac stimulus
.ac dec 100 100 10meg
.probe
.end

Mathematical software such as MATHCAD or MATLAB


can also be used to generate plots using the following
transfer function of the modulator:
 VSENSE(MAX)   1+ s R
ESR COUT  R
H(s) = 
 
 L (2)
 1.2 RDS(ON)   1+ s RL COUT 
s = j2f

3810fc

25

LTC3810
APPLICATIONS INFORMATION

Finally, choose a convenient resistor value for R1 (10k


is usually a good value). Now calculate the remaining
values:
(K is a constant used in the calculations)
f = chosen crossover frequency
G = 10(GAIN/20) (this converts GAIN in dB to G in
absolute gain)
TYPE 2 Loop:
 BOOST

+ 45
K = tan 
 2

1
C2 =
2 f G K R1

C1= C2 K 2  1

K
2 f C1
V (R1)
RB = REF
VOUT  VREF
R2 =

GAIN (dB)

PHASE

90

180
FREQUENCY (Hz)

3810 F13

Figure 13. Transfer Function of Buck Modulator

BOOST = (PHASE + 30)


If the required BOOST is less than 60, a Type 2 loop can
be used successfully, saving two external components.
BOOST values greater than 60 usually require Type 3
loops for satisfactory performance.

GAIN

PHASE (DEG)

With the gain/phase plot in hand, a loop crossover frequency can be chosen. Usually the curves look something
like Figure 13. Choose the crossover frequency about 25%
of the switching frequency for maximum bandwidth. Although it may be tempting to go beyond fSW/4, remember
that signicant phase shift occurs at half the switching
frequency that isnt modeled in the above H(s) equation
and PSPICE code. Note the gain (GAIN, in dB) and phase
(PHASE, in degrees) at this point. The desired feedback
amplier gain will be GAIN to make the loop gain at 0dB
at this frequency. Now calculate the needed phase boost,
assuming 60 as a target phase margin:

TYPE 3 Loop:
 BOOST

+ 45
K = tan2 
 4

1
C2 =
2 f G R1
C1= C2 (K  1)
K
2 f C1
R1
R3 =
K1
1
C3 =
2f K R3
V (R1)
RB = REF
VOUT  VREF
R2 =

SPICE or mathematical software can be used to generate


the gain/phase plots for the compensated power supply to
do a sanity check on the component values before trying
them out on the actual hardware. For software, use the
following transfer function:
T(s) = A(s)H(s)

3810fc

26

LTC3810
APPLICATIONS INFORMATION
where H(s) was given in Equation 2 and A(s) depends on
compensation circuit used:

Pulse Skip Mode Operation and MODE/SYNC Pin


The MODE/SYNC pin determines whether the bottom
MOSFET remains on when current reverses in the inductor.
Tying this pin above its 0.8V threshold enables pulse skip
mode operation where the bottom MOSFET turns off when
inductor current reverses. The load current at which current
reverses and discontinuous operation begins depends on
the amplitude of the inductor ripple current and will vary
with changes in VIN. Tying the MODE/SYNC pin below the
0.8V threshold forces continuous synchronous operation,
allowing current to reverse at light loads and maintaining high frequency operation. To prevent forcing current
back into the main power supply, potentially boosting the
input supply to a dangerous voltage level, forced continuous mode of operation is disabled when the TRACK/SS
voltage is below the reference voltage during soft-start
or tracking. During these two periods, the PGOOD signal
is forced low.

Type 2:
A (s) =

1+ s R2 C1
C1 C2

s R1 (C1+ C2) 1+ s R2

C1+ C2

Type 3:
A (s) =

s R1 (C1+ C2)

(1+ s (R1+ R3) C3) (1+ s R2 C1)


C1 C2
(1+ s R3 C3) 1+ s R2 C1+
C2

For SPICE, replace VSTIM line in the previous PSPICE


code with following code and generate a gain/phase plot
of V(out)/V(outin):

In addition to providing a logic input to force continuous operation, the MODE/SYNC pin provides a mean to
maintain a yback winding output when the primary is
operating in pulse skip mode. The secondary output VOUT2
is normally set as shown in Figure 14 by the turns ratio
N of the transformer. However, if the controller goes into
pulse skip mode and halts switching due to a light primary
load current, then VOUT2 will droop. An external resistor
divider from VOUT2 to the MODE/SYNC pin sets a minimum

rfb1 outin vfb 52.5k


rfb2 vfb 0 10k
eithx ithx 0 laplace {0.8-v(vfb)} =
{1/(1+s/1000)}
eith ith 0 value={limit(1e6*v(ithx),0,2.4)}
cc1 ith vfb 4p
cc2 ith x1 8p
rc x1 vfb 210k
rf outin x2 11k ;delete this line for Type 2
cf x2 vfb 120p ;delete this line for Type 2
vstim out outin dc=0 ac=1m

VIN
CIN

VIN

1N4148
TG

SW

R4
FCB

VOUT2
COUT2
1F
VOUT1

LTC3810
T1
1:N

COUT
3810 F14

R3

BG
SGND

PGND

Figure 14. Secondary Output Loop


3810fc

27

LTC3810
APPLICATIONS INFORMATION
voltage VOUT2(MIN) below which continuous operation is
forced until VOUT2 has risen above its minimum.
 R4 
VOUT2(MIN) = 0.8V  1+ 
 R3 
Table 1.
MODE/SYNC PIN

CONDITION

DC Voltage: 0V to 0.75V

Forced Continuous
Current Reversal Enabled

DC Voltage: 0.85V

Pulse Skip Mode Operation


No Current Reversal

Feedback Resistors

Regulating a Secondary Winding

Ext. Clock OV to 2V

Forced Continuous
Current Reversal Enabled

lies the same percentage below the typical value as the


maximum lies above it. Consult the MOSFET manufacturer
for further guidelines.
To further limit current in the event of a short-circuit to
ground, the LTC3810 includes foldback current limiting.
If the output falls by more than 60%, then the maximum
sense voltage is progressively lowered to about one tenth
of its full value.
Be aware also that when the fault timeout is enabled for
the external NMOS regulator, an over current limit may
cause the output to fall below the minimum 6.5V UV
threshold. This condition will cause a linear regulator
timeout/restart sequence as described in the Linear Regulator Timeout section if this condition persists.

Fault Conditions: Current Limit and Foldback

Soft-Start and Tracking

The maximum inductor current is inherently limited in a


current mode controller by the maximum sense voltage.
In the LTC3810, the maximum sense voltage is controlled
by the voltage on the VRNG pin. With valley current control,
the maximum sense voltage and the sense resistance
determine the maximum allowed inductor valley current.
The corresponding output current limit is:

The LTC3810 has the ability to either soft-start by itself with


a capacitor or track the output of another supply. When
the device is congured to soft-start by itself, a capacitor
should be connected to the TRACK/SS pin. The LTC3810 is
put in a low quiescent current shutdown state (IQ ~240A)
if the SHDN pin voltage is below 1.5V. The TRACK/SS
pin is actively pulled to ground in this shutdown state.
Once the SHDN pin voltage is above 1.5V, the LTC3810 is
powered up. A soft-start current of 1.4A then starts to
charge the soft-start capacitor CSS. Note that soft-start
is achieved not by limiting the maximum output current
of the controller but by controlling the ramp rate of the
output voltage. Current foldback is disabled during this
soft-start phase. During the soft-start phase, the LTC3810
is ramping the reference voltage until it reaches 0.8V. The
force continuous mode is also disabled and PGOOD signal
is forced low during this phase. The total soft-start time
can be calculated as:

ILIMIT =

VSNS(MAX)
RDS(ON)

1
+ IL
T 2

The current limit value should be checked to ensure that


ILIMIT(MIN) > IOUT(MAX). The minimum value of current limit
generally occurs with the largest VIN at the highest ambient temperature, conditions that cause the largest power
loss in the converter. Note that it is important to check for
self-consistency between the assumed MOSFET junction
temperature and the resulting value of ILIMIT which heats
the MOSFET switches.
Caution should be used when setting the current limit
based upon the RDS(ON) of the MOSFETs. The maximum
current limit is determined by the minimum MOSFET
on-resistance. Data sheets typically specify nominal
and maximum values for RDS(ON), but not a minimum.
A reasonable assumption is that the minimum RDS(ON)

tSOFTSTART = 0.8 CSS/1.4A


When the device is congured to track another supply,
the feedback voltage of the other supply is duplicated
by a resistor divider and applied to the TRACK/SS pin.
Therefore, the voltage ramp rate on this pin is determined
by the ramp rate of the other supply output voltage.

3810fc

28

LTC3810
APPLICATIONS INFORMATION
Output Voltage Tracking

To implement the coincident tracking in Figure 15a, connect an additional resistive divider to VOUT1 and connect its
midpoint to the TRACK/SS pin of the slave IC. The ratio of
this divider should be selected the same as that of the slave
ICs feedback divider shown in Figure 16. In this tracking
mode, VOUT1 must be set higher than VOUT2. To implement
the ratiometric tracking, the ratio of the divider should be
exactly the same as the master ICs feedback divider. Note
that the internal soft-start current will introduce a small

The LTC3810 allows the user to program how its output


ramps up by means of the TRACK/SS pin. Through this
pin, the output can be set up to either coincidentally or
ratiometrically track with another supplys output, as shown
in Figure 15. In the following discussions, VOUT1 refers
to the master LTC3810s output and VOUT2 refers to the
slave LTC3810s output.

VOUT1
OUTPUT VOLTAGE

OUTPUT VOLTAGE

VOUT1

VOUT2

VOUT2

3810 F15

TIME

TIME

(15a) Coincident Tracking

(15b) Ratiometric Tracking

Figure 15. Two Different Modes of Output Voltage Tracking

VOUT1

VOUT1

VOUT2
R3

R1

TO
TRACK/SS2
PIN

R3
TO
VFB1
PIN

R4

VOUT2
R1

TO
TRACK/SS2
PIN

TO
VFB2
PIN

R2

R4

R3
TO
VFB1
PIN

R2

TO
VFB2
PIN
R4
3810 F16

(16a) Coincident Tracking Setup

(16b) Ratiometric Tracking Setup

Figure 16. Setup for Coincident and Ratiometric Tracking

+
D1

D2

EA2

TRACK/SS2
0.8V
VFB2

D3
3810 F17

Figure 17. Equivalent Input Circuit of Error Amplier


3810fc

29

LTC3810
APPLICATIONS INFORMATION
error on the tracking voltage depending on the absolute
values of the tracking resistive divider.
By selecting different resistors, the LTC3810 can achieve
different modes of tracking including the two in Figure 15.
So which mode should be programmed? While either
mode in Figure 15 satises most practical applications,
there do exist some tradeoffs. The ratiometric mode saves
a pair of resistors, but the coincident mode offers better
output regulation. This can be better understood with the
help of Figure 17. At the input stage of the slave ICs error
amplier, two common anode diodes are used to clamp
the equivalent reference voltage and an additional diode is
used to match the shifted common mode voltage. The top
two current sources are of the same amplitude. In the
coincident mode, the TRACK/SS voltage is substantially
higher than 0.8V at steady state and effectively turns off D1.
D2 and D3 will therefore conduct the same current and
offer tight matching between VFB2 and the internal precision 0.8V reference. In the ratiometric mode, however,
TRACK/SS equals 0.8V at steady state. D1 will divert part
of the bias current to make VFB2 slightly lower than 0.8V.
Although this error is minimized by the exponential I-V
characteristic of the diode, it does impose a nite amount
of output voltage deviation. Furthermore, when the master
ICs output experiences dynamic excursion (under load
transient, for example), the slave IC output will be affected
as well. For better output regulation, use the coincident
tracking mode instead of ratiometric.

The internal oscillator locks to the external clock after


the second clock transition is received. When external
synchronization is detected, LTC3810 will operate in
forced continuous mode. If an external clock transition
is not detected for three successive periods, the internal
oscillator will revert to the frequency programmed by the
RON resistor.
During the start-up phase, phase-locked loop function is
disabled. When LTC3810 is not in synchronization mode,
PLL/LPF pin voltage is set to around 1.215V. Frequency
synchronization is accomplished by changing the internal on-time current according to the voltage on the
PLL/LPF pin.
The phase detector used is an edge sensitive digital type
which provides zero degrees phase shift between the external and internal pulses. This type of phase detector will
not lock up on input frequencies close to the harmonics
of the VCO center frequency. The PLL hold-in range, fH,
is equal to the capture range, fC:
fH = fC = 0.3 fO
The output of the phase detector is a complementary pair of
current sources charging or discharging the external lter
network on the PLL/LPF pin. A simplied block diagram
is shown in Figure 18.
RLP
2.4V

Phase-Locked Loop and Frequency Synchronization


The LTC3810 has a phase-locked loop comprised of an
internal voltage controlled oscillator and phase detector.
This allows the top MOSFET turn-on to be locked to the
rising edge of an external source. The frequency range
of the voltage controlled oscillator is 30% around the
center frequency fO. The center frequency is the operating
frequency discussed in the Operating Frequency section.
The LTC3810 incorporates a pulse detection circuit that
will detect a clock on the MODE/SYNC pin. In turn, it will
turn on the phase-locked loop function. The pulse width of
the clock has to be greater than 400ns and the amplitude
of the clock should be greater than 2V.

CLP
PLL/LPF

MODE/SYNC

DIGITAL
PHASE/
FREQUENCY
DETECTOR

VCO

3810 F18

Figure 18. Phase-Locked Loop Block Diagram

If the external frequency (fMODE/SYNC) is greater than the


oscillator frequency fO, current is sourced continuously,
pulling up the PLL/LPF pin. When the external frequency

3810fc

30

LTC3810
APPLICATIONS INFORMATION
is less than fO, current is sunk continuously, pulling down
the PLL/LPF pin. If the external and internal frequencies
are the same but exhibit a phase difference, the current
sources turn on for an amount of time corresponding to
the phase difference. Thus the voltage on the PLL/LPF
pin is adjusted until the phase and frequency of the external
and internal oscillators are identical. At this stable operating
point the phase comparator output is open and the lter
capacitor CLP holds the voltage. The LTC3810 MODE/SYNC
pin must be driven from a low impedance source such as
a logic gate located close to the pin.
The loop lter components (CLP, RLP) smooth out the
current pulses from the phase detector and provide a
stable input to the voltage controlled oscillator. The lter
components CLP and RLP determine how fast the loop
acquires lock. Typically RLP = 10k and CLP is 0.01F
to 0.1F.
Pin Clearance/Creepage Considerations
The LTC3810 is available in the G28 package which
has 0.0106" spacing between adjacent pins. To
maximize PC board trace clearance between high voltage pins, the LTC3810 has three unconnected pins
between all adjacent high voltage and low voltage
pins, providing 4(0.0106") = 0.042" clearance which
will be sufcient for most applications up to 100V.
For more information, refer to the printed circuit board
design standards described in IPC-2221 (www.ipc.org).
Efciency Considerations
The percent efciency of a switching regulator is equal to
the output power divided by the input power times 100%.
It is often useful to analyze individual losses to determine
what is limiting the efciency and which change would
produce the most improvement. Although all dissipative
elements in the circuit produce losses, four main sources
account for most of the losses in LTC3810 circuits:
1. DC I2R losses. These arise from the resistances of the
MOSFETs, inductor and PC board traces and cause the
efciency to drop at high output currents. In continuous
mode the average output current ows through L, but is
chopped between the top and bottom MOSFETs. If the two

MOSFETs have approximately the same RDS(ON), then


the resistance of one MOSFET can simply be summed
with the resistances of L and the board traces to obtain
the DC I2R loss. For example, if RDS(ON) = 0.01 and
RL = 0.005, the loss will range from 15mW to 1.5W
as the output current varies from 1A to 10A.
2. Transition loss. This loss arises from the brief amount
of time the top MOSFET spends in the saturated region
during switch node transitions. It depends upon the
input voltage, load current, driver strength and MOSFET
capacitance, among other factors. The loss is signicant
at input voltages above 20V and can be estimated from
the second term of the PMAIN equation found in the Power
MOSFET Selection section. When transition losses are
signicant, efciency can be improved by lowering the
frequency and/or using a top MOSFET(s) with lower
CRSS at the expense of higher RDS(ON).
3. INTVCC/DRVCC current. This is the sum of the MOSFET
driver and control currents. Control current is typically
about 3mA and driver current can be calculated by: IGATE
= f(QG(TOP) + QG(BOT)), where QG(TOP) and QG(BOT) are
the gate charges of the top and bottom MOSFETs. This
loss is proportional to the supply voltage that INTVCC/
DRVCC is derived from, i.e., VIN for the external NMOS
linear regulator, VOUT for the internal EXTVCC regulator, or VEXT when an external supply is connected to
INTVCC/DRVCC.
4. CIN loss. The input capacitor has the difcult job of ltering the large RMS input current to the regulator. It
must have a very low ESR to minimize the AC I2R loss
and sufcient capacitance to prevent the RMS current
from causing additional upstream losses in fuses or
batteries.
Other losses, including COUT ESR loss, Schottky diode D1
conduction loss during dead time and inductor core loss
generally account for less than 2% additional loss. When
making adjustments to improve efciency, the input current is the best indicator of changes in efciency. If you
make a change and the input current decreases, then the
efciency has increased. If there is no change in input
current, then there is no change in efciency.

3810fc

31

LTC3810
APPLICATIONS INFORMATION
Checking Transient Response
The regulator loop response can be checked by looking
at the load transient response. Switching regulators take
several cycles to respond to a step in load current. When
load step occurs, VOUT immediately shifts by an amount
equal to ILOAD (ESR), where ESR is the effective series
resistance of COUT. ILOAD also begins to charge or discharge COUT generating a feedback error signal used by the
regulator to return VOUT to its steady-state value. During
this recovery time, VOUT can be monitored for overshoot
or ringing that would indicate a stability problem.
Design Example
As a design example, take a supply with the following
specications: VIN = 36V to 72V (48V nominal), VOUT =
12V 5%, IOUT(MAX) = 10A, f = 250kHz. First, calculate the
timing resistor with VON = INTVCC:
RON =

12V
= 263k
2.4V 250kHz 76pF

and choose the inductor for about 40% ripple current at


the maximum VIN:
12V
 12V 
L=
1
= 10H
250kHz 0.4 10A  72V 
With a 10H inductor, ripple current will vary from 3.2A
to 4A (32% to 40%) over the input supply range.
Next, choose the bottom MOSFET switch. Since the drain
of the MOSFET will see the full supply voltage 72V(max)
plus any ringing, choose an 80V MOSFET to provide a
margin of safety. The Si7852DP has:
BVDSS = 80V
RDS(ON) = 16.5m(max)/13.5m(nom),
= 0.007/C,
CMILLER = (18.5nC 7nC)/40V = 288pF,
VGS(MILLER) = 4.7V,
JA= 20C/W.
This yields a nominal sense voltage of:
VSNS(NOM) = 10A 1.3 0.0135 = 176mV

To guarantee proper current limit at worst-case conditions,


increase nominal VSNS by at least 50% to 320mV (by tying
VRNG to 2V). To check if the current limit is acceptable at
VSNS = 320mV, assume a junction temperature of about
80C above a 70C ambient (150C = 2):
ILIMIT 

320mV
1
+ 4A = 11.7A
2 0.0165 2

and double-check the assumed TJ in the MOSFET:


72V  12V
PBOT =
11.7A 2 2 0.0165 = 3.8W
72V
TJ = 70C + 3.8W 20C/W = 146C
Verify that the Si7852DP is also a good choice for the
top MOSFET by checking its power dissipation at current
limit and maximum input voltage, assuming a junction
temperature of 50C above a 70C ambient (120C = 1.7):
12V
11.7A 2 (1.7 0.0165 )
72V
11.7A
+ 72V 2
2 288pF
2
1
1 


+
250kHz
 10V  4.7V 4.7V 
= 0.64W + 1.75W = 2.39W

PMAIN =

TJ = 70C + 2.39W 20C/W = 118C


The junction temperature will be signicantly less at
nominal current, but this analysis shows that careful attention to heat sinking on the board will be necessary in
this circuit.
Since VOUT > 6.7V, the INTVCC/DRVCC voltage can be
generated from VOUT with the internal LDO by connecting
VOUT to the EXTVCC pin. A small SOT23 MOSFET such as
the ZXMN10A07F can be used for the pass device if fault
timeout is enabled. Choose RNDRV to guarantee that fault
timeout is enabled when power dissipation of M3 exceeds
0.4W (max for 70C ambient). Calculate power dissipation
at VIN(MIN) = 36V:
ICC = 250kHz 2 34nC + 3mA = 20mA
PM3 = (36V 10V)(0.02A) = 0.52W
3810fc

32

LTC3810
APPLICATIONS INFORMATION
Since power dissipation at VIN(MIN) = 36V already exceeds
0.4W, calculate RNDRV(MAX) such that fault timeout is
always enabled:
RNDRV 

36V  10V 3.5V


= 83.3k
270A

So, choose RNDRV = 80.6k.


CIN is chosen for an RMS current rating of about 5A at
85C. The output capacitors are chosen for a low ESR
of 0.018 to minimize output voltage changes due to
inductor ripple current and load steps. The ripple voltage
will be only:
VOUT(RIPPLE) = IL(MAX) ESR = 4A 0.018
= 72mV
However, a 0A to 10A load step will cause an output
change of up to:
VOUT(STEP) = ILOAD ESR = 10A 0.018
= 180mV
An optional 10F ceramic output capacitor is included
to minimize the effect of ESL in the output ripple. The
complete circuit is shown in Figure 19.
PC Board Layout Checklist
When laying out a PC board follow one of two suggested
approaches. The simple PC board layout requires a dedicated ground plane layer. Also, for higher currents, it is
recommended to use a multilayer board to help with heat
sinking power components.
The ground plane layer should not have any traces and
it should be as close as possible to the layer with power
MOSFETs.
Place CIN, COUT, MOSFETs, D1 and inductor all in one
compact area. It may help to have some components
on the bottom side of the board.

Use an immediate via to connect the components to


ground plane including SGND and PGND of LTC3810.
Use several bigger vias for power components.
Use compact plane for switch node (SW) to improve
cooling of the MOSFETs and to keep EMI down.
Use planes for VIN and VOUT to maintain good voltage
ltering and to keep power losses low.
Flood all unused areas on all layers with copper. Flooding
with copper will reduce the temperature rise of power
component. You can connect the copper areas to any
DC net (VIN, VOUT, GND or to any other DC rail in your
system).
When laying out a printed circuit board, without a ground
plane, use the following checklist to ensure proper operation of the controller.
Segregate the signal and power grounds. All smallsignal components should return to the SGND pin at
one point which is then tied to the PGND pin close to
the source of M2.
Place M2 as close to the controller as possible, keeping
the PGND, BG and SW traces short.
Connect the input capacitor(s) CIN close to the power MOSFETs. This capacitor carries the MOSFET AC
current.
Keep the high dV/dt SW, BOOST and TG nodes away
from sensitive small-signal nodes.
Connect the INTVCC decoupling capacitor CVCC closely
to the INTVCC and SGND pins.
Connect the top driver boost capacitor CB closely to
the BOOST and SW pins.
Connect the bottom driver decoupling capacitor CDRVCC
closely to the DRVCC and BGRTN pins.

3810fc

33

LTC3810
APPLICATIONS INFORMATION
RNDRV
80.6k

RON
261k
CON
100pF
1
20k
4
80.6k

0.01F

10k

CSS
1000pF

RUV1
470k

11

BOOST

VON

27
TG
26
SW
25
SENSE+

RUV2
12k

CC2
47pF

19
BG
18
DRVCC
17
INTVCC
16
EXTVCC
15
NDRV

RFB2
1k

RC
200k

SGND
CC1
5pF

CB 0.1F

M1
Si7852DP

L1
10H

SENSE 21
20
BGRTN

12
SGND
13
SHDN
14
UVIN

SHDN

PGND

28

ION

SS/TRACK

CIN2
1F
100V

DB
BAS19

LTC3810

5 V
RNG
6
PGOOD
7
MODE/SYNC
8
ITH
9
VFB
10
PLL/LPF

PGOOD
250kHz
CLOCK

M3
ZXMN10A07F

VIN
36V TO 72V

CIN1
68F
100V

CDRVCC
0.1F

VOUT
12V
10A
COUT1
270F
16V

M2
Si7852DP
D1
B1100

CVCC
1F

COUT2
10F
16V

PGND

RFB1
14k

3810 F19

Figure 19. 36V to 72V Input Voltage to 12V/10A Synchronized at 250kHz

3810fc

34

LTC3810
TYPICAL APPLICATIONS
7V to 80V Input Voltage to 5V/5A with IC Power from 12V Supply
and All Ceramic Output Capacitors

RON
110k

12V

CON
100pF
1

BOOST
TG

PGOOD
RUV1
470k
CSS
1000pF

SENSE

CC2
200pF
RC
100k

RFB2
1.89k

VOUT
5V
5A

20
CDRVCC
0.1F

COUT
47F
6.3V
s3

M2
Si7852DP
D1
B1100

CVCC
1F

SGND
CC1
5pF

M1
Si7852DP

L1
4.7H

19
BG
18
DRVCC
17
INTVCC
16
EXTVCC
15
NDRV

SS/TRACK
12
SGND
13
SHDN
14
UVIN
RUV2
61.9k

CB 0.1F

27

21

BGRTN

11

SHDN

PGND

28

26
SW
25
SENSE+

VON
5
VRNG
6
PGOOD
7
MODE/SYNC
8
ITH
9
VFB
10
PLL/LPF

CIN2
1F
100V

DB
BAS19

LTC3810
ION

VIN
7V TO 80V

CIN1
68F
100V

PGND

RFB1
10k
3810 TA04

15V to 80V Input Voltage to 3.3V/5A with Fault Timeout,


Pulse Skip and VIN UV Disabled
RNDRV
274k

RON
71.5k

M3
ZVN4210G

CON
100pF
1

DB
BAS19

LTC3810
BOOST

ION

TG
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

PGOOD

CSS
1000pF

PGOOD
MODE/SYNC
ITH
VFB
PLL/LPF

SS/TRACK
12
SGND
13
SHDN
14
UVIN

SHDN

CC2
47pF
RFB2
1.89k

RC
200k

SGND
CC1
5pF

PGND

27

CB
0.1F

M1
Si7852DP

L1
4.7H

21

VOUT
3.3V
5A

SENSE
20
BGRTN

BG

11

CIN2
1F
100V

28

26
SW
25
SENSE+

VON
VRNG

VIN
15V TO 80V

CIN1
68F
100V

DRVCC

19
18

CDRVCC
0.1F

17
INTVCC
16
EXTVCC
15
NDRV

COUT1
270F
6.3V

M2
Si7852DP
D1
B1100

CVCC
1F

COUT2
10F
6.3V

PGND

RFB1
10k
3810 TA05

3810fc

35

LTC3810
PACKAGE DESCRIPTION
G Package
28-Lead Plastic SSOP (5.3mm)
(Reference LTC DWG # 05-08-1640)
9.90 10.50*
(.390 .413)
28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15

1.25 0.12

7.8 8.2

5.3 5.7

0.42 0.03

7.40 8.20
(.291 .323)

0.65 BSC
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

RECOMMENDED SOLDER PAD LAYOUT

2.0
(.079)
MAX

5.00 5.60**
(.197 .221)

0 8

0.09 0.25
(.0035 .010)

0.55 0.95
(.022 .037)

NOTE:
1. CONTROLLING DIMENSION: MILLIMETERS
MILLIMETERS
2. DIMENSIONS ARE IN
(INCHES)

0.65
(.0256)
BSC

0.22 0.38
(.009 .015)
TYP

0.05
(.002)
MIN
G28 SSOP 0204

3. DRAWING NOT TO SCALE


*DIMENSIONS DO NOT INCLUDE MOLD FLASH. MOLD FLASH
SHALL NOT EXCEED .152mm (.006") PER SIDE
**DIMENSIONS DO NOT INCLUDE INTERLEAD FLASH. INTERLEAD
FLASH SHALL NOT EXCEED .254mm (.010") PER SIDE

3810fc

36

LTC3810
REVISION HISTORY

(Revision history begins at Rev C)

REV

DATE

DESCRIPTION

PAGE NUMBER

01/11

Changed Operating Junction Temperature Range in Absolute Maximum Ratings and Order Information sections

Remove Lead Based Part Numbers from Order Information

Updated Equations

27

Updated Related Parts

38

3810fc

Information furnished by Linear Technology Corporation is believed to be accurate and reliable.


However, no responsibility is assumed for its use. Linear Technology Corporation makes no representation that the interconnection of its circuits as described herein will not infringe on existing patent rights.

37

LTC3810
TYPICAL APPLICATION
15V to 100V Input Voltage to 12V/5A with Trickle Charger Start-Up

RNDRV
100k

RON
261k
CON
100pF

BOOST

ION

28
27

4
VON
5
VRNG
6
PGOOD
7
MODE/SYNC
8 I
TH
9 V
FB
10
PLL/LPF

PGOOD
RUV1
470k
CSS
1000pF

11

SS/TRACK

TG
26
SW
+ 25
SENSE

CC2
47pF
RFB2
1k

RC
200k

CC1
5pF

M1
Si7456DP

L1
10H

SENSE 21
20
BGRTN
19
BG
DRVCC 18
17
INTV

CDRVCC
0.1F

EXTVCC 16
15
NDRV
SGND

RUV2
28k

PGND

CB
0.1F

VOUT
12V
5A
COUT1
270F
16V

M2
Si7456DP

CC

12
SGND
13
SHDN
14
UVIN

SHDN

CIN2
1F
100V

DB
BAS19

LTC3810

VIN
15V TO 100V

CIN1
68F
100V

CVCC2
22F
CVCC1
1F

D1
B1100

COUT2
10F
16V

PGND

RFB1
14k
3810 TA06

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DESCRIPTION

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3810fc

38

Linear Technology Corporation

LT 0111 REV C PRINTED IN USA

1630 McCarthy Blvd., Milpitas, CA 95035-7417


(408) 432-1900 FAX: (408) 434-0507

www.linear.com

LINEAR TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION 2007

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