CIN (MIN) ='VIN (MAX)
IF x tON
17
LM3404
,
LM3404HV
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SNVS465G –OCTOBER 2006–REVISED SEPTEMBER 2015
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Application Information (continued)
8.1.5 Input Capacitors
Input capacitors at the VIN pin of the LM3404 and LM3404HV devices are selected using requirements for
minimum capacitance and rms ripple current. The input capacitors supply pulses of current approximately equal
to IFwhile the power MOSFET is on, and are charged up by the input voltage while the power MOSFET is off.
Switching converters such as the LM3404 and LM3404HV devices have a negative input impedance due to the
decrease in input current as input voltage increases. This inverse proportionality of input current to input voltage
can cause oscillations (sometimes called power supply interaction) if the magnitude of the negative input
impedance is greater the the input filter impedance. Minimum capacitance can be selected by comparing the
input impedance to the converter’s negative resistance; however this requires accurate calculation of the input
voltage source inductance and resistance, quantities that can be difficult to determine.
An alternative method to select the minimum input capacitance, CIN(MIN), is to select the maximum input voltage
ripple which can be tolerated. This value, ΔvIN(MAX), is equal to the change in voltage across CIN during the
converter on-time, when CIN supplies the load current. CIN(MIN) can be selected with Equation 12.
(12)
A good starting point for selection of CIN is to use an input voltage ripple of 5% to 10% of VIN. TI recommends a
minimum input capacitance of 2× the CIN(MIN) value for all LM3404 and LM3404HV circuits. To determine the rms
current rating, Equation 13 can be used.
(13)
Ceramic capacitors are the best choice for the input to the LM3404 and LM3404HV devices due to their high
ripple current rating, low ESR, low cost, and small size compared to other types. When selecting a ceramic
capacitor, special attention must be paid to the operating conditions of the application. Ceramic capacitors can
lose one-half or more of their capacitance at their rated DC voltage bias and also lose capacitance with extremes
in temperature. TI recommends a DC voltage rating equal to twice the expected maximum input voltage. In
addition, the minimum quality dielectric which is suitable for switching power supply inputs is X5R, while X7R or
better is preferred.
8.1.6 Recirculating Diode
The LM3404 and LM3404HV devices are non-synchronous buck regulators that require a recirculating diode D1
(see the Typical Application Diagram) to carrying the inductor current during the MOSFET off-time. The most
efficient choice for D1 is a Schottky diode due to low forward drop and near-zero reverse recovery time. D1 must
be rated to handle the maximum input voltage plus any switching node ringing when the MOSFET is on. In
practice all switching converters have some ringing at the switching node due to the diode parasitic capacitance
and the lead inductance. D1 must also be rated to handle the average current, ID, calculated as shown in
Equation 14.
ID= (1 – D) x IF(14)
This calculation must be done at the maximum expected input voltage. The overall converter efficiency becomes
more dependent on the selection of D1 at low duty cycles, where the recirculating diode carries the load current
for an increasing percentage of the time. This power dissipation can be calculating by checking the typical diode
forward voltage, VD, from the I-V curve on the product data sheet and then multiplying it by ID. Diode data sheets
will also provide a typical junction-to-ambient thermal resistance, θJA, which can be used to estimate the
operating die temperature of the device. Multiplying the power dissipation (PD= ID× VD) by θJA gives the
temperature rise. The diode case size can then be selected to maintain the Schottky diode temperature below
the operational maximum.