Micrel Inc. MIC23158/9
June 2012 15 M9999-062512-A
Efficiency Considerations
Efficiency is defined as the amount of useful output
power, divided by the amount of power supplied.
100
IV
IV
%Efficiency
ININ
OUTOUT
There are two types of losses in switching converters;
DC losses and switching losses. DC losses are simply
the power dissipation of I2R. Power is dissipated in the
high side switch during the on cycle. Power loss is equal
to the high side MOSFET RDSON multiplied by the switch
current squared. During the off cycle, the low side N-
channel MOSFET conducts, also dissipating power.
Device operating current also reduces efficiency. The
product of the quiescent (operating) current and the
supply voltage represents another DC loss. The current
required driving the gates on and off at a constant 3MHz
frequency and the switching transitions make up the
switching losses.
Efficiency (V
OUT
= 1.8V) vs.
Output Current
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
1 10 100 1000 10000
OUTPUT CURRENT (m A)
EFFICI ENCY (% )
VIN = 2.7V
VIN = 4.2V
VIN = 3.6V VIN = 5V
C
OUT
=4.7µF
L=1µH
Figure 3. Efficiency Under Load
The figure above shows an efficiency curve. From 1mA
load to 2A, efficiency losses are dominated by quiescent
current losses, gate drive and transition losses. By using
the HyperLight Load mode, the MIC23158/9 is able to
maintain high efficiency at low output currents.
Over 180mA, efficiency loss is dominated by MOSFET
RDSON and inductor losses. Higher input supply voltages
will increase the gate-to-source threshold on the internal
MOSFETs, thereby reducing the internal RDSON. This
improves efficiency by reducing DC losses in the device.
All but the inductor losses are inherent to the device. In
which case, inductor selection becomes increasingly
critical in efficiency calculations. As the inductors are
reduced in size, the DC resistance (DCR) can become
quite significant. The DCR losses can be calculated as
follows:
P
DCR = IOUT
2 x DCR
From that, the loss in efficiency due to inductor
resistance can be calculated as follows:
100
PIV
IV
1LossEfficiency
DCROUTOUT
OUTOUT
Efficiency loss due to DCR is minimal at light loads and
gains significance as the load is increased. Inductor
selection becomes a trade off between efficiency and
size in this case.
HyperLight Load Mode
The MIC23158/9 uses a minimum on and off time
proprietary control loop (patented by Micrel). When the
output voltage falls below the regulation threshold, the
error comparator begins a switching cycle that turns the
PMOS on and keeps it on for the duration of the
minimum-on-time. This increases the output voltage. If
the output voltage is over the regulation threshold, then
the error comparator turns the PMOS off for a minimum-
off-time until the output drops below the threshold. The
NMOS acts as an ideal rectifier that conducts when the
PMOS is off. Using an NMOS switch instead of a diode
allows for lower voltage drop across the switching device
when it is on. The synchronous switching combination
between the PMOS and the NMOS allows the control
loop to work in discontinuous mode for light load
operations. In discontinuous mode, the MIC23158/9
works in HyperLight Load to regulate the output. As the
output current increases, the off time decreases, thus
provides more energy to the output. This switching
scheme improves the efficiency of MIC23158/9 during
light load currents by only switching when it is needed.
As the load current increases, the MIC23158/9 goes into
continuous conduction mode (CCM) and switches at a
frequency centered at 3MHz. The equation to calculate
the load when the MIC23158/9 goes into continuous
conduction mode may be approximated by the following
formula:
f2L
D)V(V
IOUTIN
LOAD
As shown in the previous equation, the load at which the
MIC23158/9 transitions from HyperLight Load mode to
PWM mode is a function of the input voltage (VIN), output
voltage (VOUT), duty cycle (D), inductance (L) and
frequency (f). As shown in Figure 4, as the Output
Current increases, the switching frequency also
increases until the MIC23158/9 goes from HyperLight
Load mode to PWM mode at approximately 180mA. The
MIC23158/9 will switch at a relatively constant frequency
around 3MHz once the output current is over 180mA.