
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
OPERATION
SWITCHING FREQUENCY
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
10
100
1000
R4-kW
f-Frequency-kHz
www.ti.com ........................................................................................................................................................................................... SLVS893 – DECEMBER 2008
The TPS61500 integrates a 3-A/40-V low side switch FET for driving up to 10 high brightness LEDs in series.
The device regulates the FB pin voltage at 200-mV with current mode PWM (pulse width modulation) control,
and the LED current is sensed through a low value resistor in series with LEDs.
The PWM control circuitry turns on the switch at the beginning of each switching cycle. The input voltage is
applied across the inductor and stores the energy as inductor current ramps up. During this portion of the
switching cycle, the load current is provided by the output capacitor. When the inductor current rises to the
threshold set by the error amplifier output, the power switch turns off and the external Schottky diode is forward
biased. The inductor transfers stored energy to replenish the output capacitor and supply the load current. This
operation repeats each switching cycle. As shown in the block diagram, the duty cycle of the converter is
determined by the PWM control comparator which compares the error amplifier output and the current signal.
The switching frequency is programmed by the external resistor.
A ramp signal from the oscillator is added to the current ramp. This slope compensation is necessary to avoid
sub-harmonic oscillation that is intrinsic to the current mode control at duty cycle higher than 50%. The feedback
loop regulates the FB pin to a reference voltage through an error amplifier. The output of the error amplifier is
connected to the COMP pin. An external compensation network is connected to the COMP pin to optimize the
feedback loop for stability and transient response.
The switch frequency is determined by a resistor connected to the FREQ pin of the TPS61500. Do not leave this
pin open. A resistor must always be connected for proper operation. See
Table 1 and
Figure 14 for resistor
values and corresponding frequencies.
Table 1. Switching Frequency vs External Resistor
R4 (k
)
fSW (kHz)
443
240
256
400
176
600
80
1200
51
2000
Figure 14. Switching Frequency vs External Resistor
Copyright 2008, Texas Instruments Incorporated
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