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4
3
6
5
1
0
2
20
0
60
70
80
10
30
40
50
COUT Output Capacitance F
L = 5.6
H
V
O
U
T
Output
V
oltage
V
PHASE = 50
°
L = 2.2
H
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
0
20
100
40
70
10
90
30
60
50
Phase
Margin
°
COUT Output Capacitance F
L = 1.8
H
VOUT = 1.8 V
L = 5.6
H
C
LEAD +
1
2 p
f
R
(8)
f
R +
1
2 p
1
L
C
O
1
2
(9)
Catch Diode (D1)
SLUS642A – OCTOBER 2005 – REVISED JANUARY 2006
These component selection decisions influence the phase margin and hence the stability of the system. For
example, raising the output capacitance reduces the system crossover frequency and raises phase margin.
Figure 11 illustrates this in a curve that shows phase margin as a function of output capacitance for two widely
different inductors. The curves show that beyond a certain point, added capacitance has limited benefit. This
point can be exploited to avoid the expense of excessive output capacitance. The curves also show the
advantage of a lower inductance, where only 20-
F of output capacitance is required to obtain 60 degrees of
phase margin.
The output voltage affects the phase margin by changing the equivalent output resistance to deliver full load.
With a higher output voltage for example, there is a higher full-load resistance and a lower output capacitance is
required for the same phase margin. An idea of this effect is illustrated in
Figure 12 which plots the required
minimum capacitance to achieve 50 degrees of phase margin at different output voltages. The curves also show
the reduction in output capacitance that may be achieved with a lower inductor value.
PHASE MARGIN
OUTPUT VOLTAGE
vs
OUTPUT CAPACITANCE
Figure 11.
Figure 12.
A further improvement in reducing output capacitance is made by adding a lead capacitor across R1 of the
feedback network. This lead capacitor can be determined by making its impedance equal to the resistance of R1
at the resonant frequency of the output L-C network. The lead capacitance is calculated using
Equation 8.
The resonant frequency formed by the inductor and the output load capacitance is calculated in
Equation 9.
The selection of the catch diode depends on the application current. Select a diode that has a low forward
voltage drop, and a low junction capacitance. A diode with too high of a forward voltage drop or a diode with high
junction capacitance result in a converter that has poor efficiency, as well as excessive ringing on the SW node
and excessive output voltage noise.
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