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AN-8023 Negative Voltage Management Using a FAN8303 Buck Regulator
Abstract
FAN8303 is a 2A, 370kHz monolithic integrated buck regulator with internal power MOSFETs. It is simple to use and needs minimal external components. This application note describes how to generate negative voltage using FAN8303. It introduces application examples and discusses optimized designs for a buck-boost circuit. for linear regulators in PC monitor and TV applications. In some cases, a non-synchronous buck regulator also can be utilized for buck-boost circuit to generate negative voltage with respect to ground. These applications include audio amplifier, timing control circuit for LCD panel, and so on. Figure 1 shows a practical application of an LCD panel; it needs negative voltage for contrast control. In this block diagram, a charge pump is usually adopted due to the simple design and low cost. However, it has an amount of power dissipation and poor output voltage regulation relative to input voltage variation. FAN8303 with negative output would be a solution to overcome these problems.
Introduction
Buck regulators are widely used for higher voltage to lower voltage DC conversion. Likewise, FAN8303 was originally designed for application needing regulated DC voltage, such as set-top box microcontrollers and efficient pre-regulators
Charge pump AV Board
12V
-5V , 15V
LDO DC/DC (buck) DC/DC (boost)
2.5V, 3.3V
SoC
Row Drivers
TFT LCD Panel
2.5V
DDR2
EEPROM
Column Drivers
16V
P-gamma IC
Figure 1. Example of Timing Control Block
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AN-8023
APPLICATION NOTE
Principle of Operation
To understand buck-boost topology, buck topolgy is briefly compared below. When the MOSFET switch (Q1 in Figure 3) is turned on, the voltage across inductor (VL) is VIN -VOUT. During Q1 off-time, VL is equal to -VOUT in buck topology. So the inductor current (IL) ramps up with (VIN-VOUT)/L and ramps down with VOUT/L slope. Thus, the energy can be transferred to the load with positive output voltage. Meanwhile, in buck-boost topology, the inductor and freewheeling diode switch positions. When the MOSFET
Q1 D1 Vo
switch Q1 (Figure 2) is turned on, VL is same as VIN, so IL ramps up with VIN/L. During the Q1 off-time, VL has reverse polarity to maintain continuous inductor current with -VOUT. Therefore, it can generate negative output voltage. Buck-boost circuit with buck regulators require several design considerations. Table 1 summarizes the design parameter comparison between buck and buck-boost circuit.
LOUT
Q1
Vo
PWM
VIN CIN LOUT COUT Load
VIN CIN
PWM
D1 COUT Load
Q1 ON Q1 OFF
Q1 ON Q1 OFF
I Q1
I Q1
t
I D1
t
I D1
IL ∆I L
VL
VIN
IL
∆I L
VL
VIN − VOU T
VOUT
−VOUT
VOUT
−VOUT
Figure 2. Buck-Boost Topology
Figure 3. Buck Topology
Table 1.
Buck and Buck-Boost Design Parameters IL (Average)
IOUT 1− D
Topology
Buck-Boost Buck
Maximum VSW
VIN + VOUT
Duty Cycles
VOUT VIN + VOUT
I OUT
VIN
VOUT VIN
First of all, inductor current is limited by (1–D); so attention is needed to see that the maximum output current of buck regulator is be always lower than the maximum current in buck-boost circuit. Second, the switch node is a sum of input voltage and output voltage in buck-boost. It also needs to be
© 2009 Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation Rev. 1.0.0 • 7/30/09 2
limited to the maximum switch node voltage of buck regulator. Since buck-boost is very noisy on input and output compared to buck circuit, it requires good-quality MLCC as input and output filters.
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AN-8023
APPLICATION NOTE
Design Considerations
Inductor Selection
When choosing inductor, the main concerns are inductance value, RMS current rating, and DCR. Inductance value is usually adopted higher than the minimum inductance to operate Continuous Current Mode (CCM). RMS current should be higher than the inductor current to prevent inductor saturation without core loss. A low-DCR inductor is usually adopted when a power system needs high efficiency. To operate in continuous current mode, critical minimum inductance is calculated by:
L= VIN × D fSW × ΔIL
VOUT VOUT + VIN
Input Capacitor
The input capacitor should handle the maximum input RMS current, so use the equations below for calculation. Good estimation is given by 10µF or 22µF per amp with MLCC. Maximum RMS input current:
IRMS _ MAX = IOUTMAX ×
(D × (1 − D))
(4)
Required minimum capacitance:
CMIN = (IRMS × D) / (fSW × ΔVIN ) (5)
(1)
where ΔVIN is desired input voltage ripple.
where:
D=
Freewheeling Diode
= Duty cycle; = Switching frequency; and = Ripple current to maintain continuous current mode (typically 20%~30% of IL). The freewheeling diode acts as a inductor current path when the switch is turned off. Breakdown voltage, lower forward drop voltage, and the maximum current rating are considered for low power dissipation. A Schottky diode is preferred, which has low forward voltage drop. Required diode current rating:
> ILMAX (6)
fSW ΔIL
Output Capacitor
An output capacitor is needed to satisfy the output voltage ripple requirement and to maintain constant output voltage during dynamic load condition. Ripple voltage depends on ESR, output capacitance, and ESL. To obtain the desired output ripple, the below equation for required minimum capacitance is useful:
CMIN = IOUTMAX × DMAX fSW × ΔVOUT (2)
where ILMAX is maximum inductor current. Required breakdown voltage:
> VIN + VOUT (7)
where: DMAX ΔVOUT = Maximum Duty Cycle; Maximum Output Current; and Desired Output Voltage Ripple. IOUTMAX = =
ΔVOUT ILMAX
The equation for required ESR is:
ESR = (3)
© 2009 Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation Rev. 1.0.0 • 7/30/09
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AN-8023
APPLICATION NOTE
Design Example
A design example with test conditions VIN =12V, VOUT = -5V, IOUT = 1A, and fSW =370 kHz (fixed) is shown below. The first step is to set the critical design parameters, such as inductor ripple current (∆IL) and desired output ripple voltage (∆VOUT). The second step is calculation of duty cycle. To achieve accurate value, consider the forward voltage drop of diode and MOSFET switch on drop voltage. Fairchild FAN8303, non-synchronous buck regulator has integrated 0.22Ω N-channel MOSFET, so on drop voltage is about 0.4V. Forward voltage of the Schottky diode (40VRRM/ 2A IOUT) is 0.45V. When it comes to the inductor, a higher value than calculated is recommended and a low DCR inductor is preferred:
Table 2.
Design Example Calculations
= (|VOUT|+ VF) / (VIN +|VOUT|+VF-VQ1) = (VIN × D)/ (fSW × ∆IL) = (IOUT × D) / (fSW × ∆VOUT) IRMS = IOUT × D × (1 − D) CIN = IRMS × D/ (∆VIN ×fSW ) 0.33 35.6µH (desired ∆IL = 20%) 86.8µF (desired ∆VOUT = 10mV) 0.47A 4.05µF 1.77A
Duty Cycle: Inductance: Output Capacitance: Input Capacitance:
Diode Current Rating:
IDIODE_MAX = IAVG + ∆IL/2 where IAVG = Average Inductor Current
10nF
CBS
INPUT 12V
BOOT VIN
Q1
VSW FB
39µH
L1
GND
2.45k
R2
PWM
GND
10µF
COMP SS
1nF 10nF
CIN
CIN2
10µF
CC
D1
CSS
18k
R3
COUT
22µF x 4EA
Load
40k
RC
OUTPUT -5V / 1A
Figure 4. Buck-Boost Schematic Using FAN8303
© 2009 Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation Rev. 1.0.0 • 7/30/09
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AN-8023
APPLICATION NOTE
Typical Waveforms & Graphs
Figure 5 and Figure 6 show the typical waveforms of the FAN8303 output ripple voltage. To achieve low ripple voltage, lower than 10mΩ MLCC is used. Figure 7 shows FAN8303 efficiency and power-loss graph. It indicates a maximum of 87% efficiency with 0.31W at 400mA load condition.
VOUT, 50mV/div
VOUT, 50mV/div
IOUT, 500mA/div
IOUT, 500mA/div
VSW, 5V/div
VSW, 5V/div
Figure 5. VOUT Ripple (1µs/div), 33mV at 100mA
Figure 6. VOUT Ripple (1µs/div), 89mV at 1A
Note:
1.
Test conditions: VIN =12V, VOUT = -5V, fSW = fixed 370 kHz, and IOUT = 0~1A.
Efficiency and Power Loss
88 86 84 Efficiency (%) 82 80 0.5 78 0.4 76 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.0 0 200 400 600 800 1000 Load (mA) 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 Power Loss (W)
Efficiency
74 72 70
Power loss
Figure 7. Efficiency and Power Loss
© 2009 Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation Rev. 1.0.0 • 7/30/09
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AN-8023
APPLICATION NOTE
Conclusion
Fairchild 2A monolithic and non-synchronous buck regulator, FAN8303, has wide input range (~23V) with excellent load and line regulation. In spite of buck regulator, FAN8303 also can be utilized for buck-boost circuit to generate negative output voltage with simple changes of passive element.
Author
DSEOM Application Engineer, SGYOON Application Engineer
Related Datasheets
FAN8303 — 2A 23V Non-Synchronous Step-Down DC/DC Regulator
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