LT3506/LT3506A
11
3506afc
to the regulation voltage. For a 5% overshoot, this require-
ment becomes
COUT > 10L(ILIM/VOUT)2.
Finally, there must be enough capacitance for good transient
performance. The last equation gives a good starting point.
Alternatively, you can start with one of the designs in this
data sheet and experiment to get the desired performance.
This topic is covered more thoroughly in the section on
loop compensation.
For 5V and 3.3V outputs with greater than 1A output, a
22μF 6.3V ceramic capacitor (X5R or X7R) at the output
results in very low output voltage ripple and good tran-
sient response. For lower voltages, 22μF is adequate but
increasing COUT will improve transient performance. For
the LT3506A, 10μF of output capacitance is sufcient at
VOUT between 3.3V and 5V. Other types and values can be
used. The following discusses tradeoffs in output ripple
and transient performance.
The high performance (low ESR), small size and robust-
ness of ceramic capacitors make them the preferred type
for LT3506 applications. However, all ceramic capacitors
are not the same. As mentioned above, many of the
higher value capacitors use poor dielectrics with high
temperature and voltage coefcients. In particular, Y5V
and Z5U types lose a large fraction of their capacitance
with applied voltage and temperature extremes. Because
the loop stability and transient response depend on the
value of COUT, you may not be able to tolerate this loss.
Use X7R and X5R types.
You can also use electrolytic capacitors. The ESRs of most
aluminum electrolytics are too large to deliver low output
ripple. Tantalum and newer, lower ESR organic electrolytic
capacitors intended for power supply use are suitable,
and the manufacturers will specify the ESR. The choice of
capacitor value will be based on the ESR required for low
ripple. Because the volume of the capacitor determines
its ESR, both the size and the value will be larger than a
ceramic capacitor that would give similar ripple perfor-
mance. One benet is that the larger capacitance may give
better transient response for large changes in load current.
Table 2 lists several capacitor vendors.
Table 2. Low-ESR Surface Mount Capacitors
VENDOR
TYPE
SERIES
Taiyo-Yuden
Ceramic
AVX
Ceramic
Tantalum
TPS
Kemet
Tantalum
Organic
Aluminum
Organic
T491, T494, T495, T520
A700
Sanyo
Tantalum or Aluminum
Organic
POSCAP
Panasonic
Aluminum
Organic
SP
CAP
TDK
Ceramic
Catch Diode
The catch diode (D1 in Figure 2) must have a reverse volt-
age rating greater than the maximum input voltage. The
average current of the catch diode is given by:
IDAVE = IOUT (1 – DCMIN)
A Schottky diode with a 1A average forward current rating
will sufce for most applications. The ON Semiconductor
MBRM120LT3 (20V) and MBRM130LT3 (30V) are good
choices; they have a tiny package with good thermal proper-
ties. Many vendors have suitable surface mount versions of
the 1N5817 (20V) and 1N5818 (30V) 1A Schottky diodes
such as the Microsemi UPS120.
Applications with large step down ratios and high output
currents may have more than 1A of average diode current.
The ON Semiconductor MBRS230LT3 or International Rec-
tier 20BQ030 (both 2A, 30V) would be good choices.
APPLICATIONS INFORMATION