NB621 – 8A, 25V, 600kHz SYNCHRONOUS STEP-DOWN CONVERTER WITH INTEGRATED LDO

NB621 Rev. 0.9

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13

12/10/2013

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Selecting the Output Capacitor

The output capacitor (C2) is required to maintain

the DC output voltage. Ceramic, tantalum, or low

ESR electrolytic capacitors are recommended.

Low ESR capacitors are preferred to keep the

output voltage ripple low. The output voltage

ripple can be estimated by:

⎟⎟

⎠

⎞

⎜⎜

⎝

⎛

×

×

+

×

⎟⎟

⎠

⎞

⎜⎜

⎝

⎛

−

×

×

=

Δ

2

C

f

8

1

R

V

V

1

L

f

V

V

S

ESR

IN

OUT

S

OUT

OUT

Where L is the inductor value and RESR is the

equivalent series resistance (ESR) value of the

output capacitor.

In the case of ceramic capacitors, the impedance

at the switching frequency is dominated by the

capacitance. The output voltage ripple is mainly

caused by the capacitance. For simplification, the

output voltage ripple can be estimated by:

⎟⎟

⎠

⎞

⎜⎜

⎝

⎛

−

×

×

×

×

=

IN

OUT

2

S

OUT

OUT

V

V

1

2

C

L

f

8

V

ΔV

In the case of tantalum or electrolytic capacitors,

the ESR dominates the impedance at the

switching frequency. For simplification, the output

ripple can be approximated to:

ESR

IN

OUT

S

OUT

OUT

R

V

V

1

L

f

V

ΔV

×

⎟⎟

⎠

⎞

⎜⎜

⎝

⎛

−

×

×

=

The characteristics of the output capacitor also

affect the stability of the regulation system. The

NB621 can be optimized for a wide range of

capacitance and ESR values.

PC Board Layout

The high current paths (GND, IN and SW) should

be placed very close to the device with short,

direct and wide traces. The input capacitor needs

to be as close as possible to the IN and GND

pins. The external feedback resistors should be

placed next to the FB pin. Keep the switching

node SW short and away from the feedback

network.

External Bootstrap Diode

An external bootstrap diode may enhance the

efficiency of the regulator, the applicable

conditions of external BST diode are:

Duty cycle is high: D=

IN

OUT

V

V

>65%

In these cases, an external BST diode is

recommended from the output of the voltage

regulator to BST pin, as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3—Add Optional External Bootstrap

Diode to Enhance Efficiency

The recommended external BST diode is IN4148,

and the BST cap is 0.1~1µF.