Easy-to-use and compact point-of-Load power suppliesare necessary in systems with widely distributed, highcurrent, low voltage Loads. The LTC®3415 provides acompact, simple and versatile solution. It includes a pairof integrated complementary power MOSFETs (32mΩtop and 25mΩ bottom) and requires no external senseresistor. A complete design requires an inductor andinput/output capacitors, and that’s it. The result is a fast,constant frequency, 7A current mode DC/DC switchingregulator.
Advancements in board assembly, PCB layout anddigital IC integration have produced a new generationof densely populated, high performance systems. Theboard-mounted point-of-Load (POL) DC/DC power suppliesin these systems are subject to the same demandingsize, high power and performance requirements asother subsystems. The rigorous new POL demands aredifficult to meet with traditional controller or regulatorICs, or power modules.
Automobile electronic systems place high demands ontoday’s DC/DC converters. They must be able to preciselyregulate an output voltage in the face of wide temperatureand input voltage ranges—including Load dump transientsin excess of 60V and cold crank voltage drops to 4V. Theconverter must also be able to minimize battery drain inalways-on systems by maintaining high effi ciency over abroad Load current range. Similar demands are made bymany 48V nonisolated telecom applications, 40V FireWireperipherals and battery-powered applications with autoplug adaptors. The LT3437’s best in classperformancemeets all of these requirements in a small thermallyenhanced 3mm × 3mm DFN package.
Traditionally, an Electronic Circuit Breaker (ECB) comprisesa MOSFET, a MOSFET controller and a current senseresistor. The LTC®4213 does away with the sense resistorby using the RDS(ON) of the external MOSFET. The resultis a simple, small solution that offers a signifi cant lowinsertion loss advantage at low operating Load voltage.The LTC4213 features two circuit breaking responses tovarying overLoad conditions with three selectable tripthresholds and a high side drive for an external N-channelMOSFET switch.
Automotive batteries, industrial power supplies, distributedsupplies and wall transformers are all sources ofwide-ranging high voltage inputs. The easiest way to stepdown these sources is with a high voltage monolithicstep-down regulator that can directly accept a wide inputrange and produce a well-regulated output. The LT®3493accepts inputs from 3.6V to 36V and LT3481 acceptsinputs from 3.6V to 34V. Both provide excellent lineand Load regulation and dynamic response. The LT3481offers a high effi ciency solution over a wide Load range andkeeps the output ripple low during Burst Mode® operationwhile the LT3493 provides a tiny solution with minimalexternal components. The LT3493 operates at 750kHzand the LT3481 has adjustable frequency from 300kHzto 2.8MHz. High frequency operation enables the use ofsmall, low cost inductors and ceramic capacitors.
Many telecommunications and computing applicationsneed high effi ciency step-down DC/DC converters thatcan operate from a very low input voltage. The highoutput power synchronous controller LT3740 is idealfor these applications, converting input supplies rangingfrom 2.2V to 22V to outputs as low as 0.8V with Loadcurrents from 2A to 20A. Applications include distributedpower systems, point-of-Load regulation and conversionof logic supplies.
The LTC®3569 is a compact power solution for handhelddevices. Its tiny 3mm × 3mm QFN package includesthree buck regulators with individually programmableoutput voltages. One regulator supports Load currentsup to 1200mA, while the other two support currents to600mA. Two regulators can be paralleled for increasedLoad capability. Each current-mode regulator is internallycompensated with excellent Load and line regulation. Acomplete 2- or 3-output solution requires a minimumof external passive components.
Industrial remote monitoring systems and keep-alivecircuits spend most of their time in standby mode. Manyof these systems also depend on battery power, so powersupply effi ciency in standby state is very important tomaximize battery life. The LT®8410/-1 high effi ciencyboost converter is ideal for these systems, requiringonly 8.5μA of quiescent current in standby mode. Thedevice integrates high value (12.4M/0.4M) output feedbackresistors, signifi cantly reducing input current whenthe output is in regulation with no Load. Other featuresinclude an integrated 40V switch and Schottky diode,output disconnect with current limit, built in soft-start,overvoltage protection and a wide input range, all in atiny 8-pin 2mm × 2mm DFN package.
Today’s computer, datacom, and telecom systems demandpower supplies that are effi cient, respond quicklyto Load transients and accurately regulate the voltageat the Load. For example, Load current can be measuredby using the inductor DCR, thus eliminating the needfor a dedicated sense resistor. Inductor DCR sensingincreases effi ciency—especially at heavy Load—whilereducing component cost and required board space.The LTC®3856 single-output 2-phase synchronous buckcontroller improves the accuracy of inductor DCR sensingby compensating for changes in DCR due to temperature.
The voltage range of Linear Technology’s PowerPath® circuitscan be easily extended with just a few components, thusallowing them to meet the needs of virtually all applications.This application note presents solutions for circuits thatmust withstand large negative voltages, a reverse adapterinput for example, and circuits that must withstand largepositive inputs, such as automotive Load-dump.
