RT =

(1/F) - 235 x 10

-9

182 x 10

-12

:

LM5041A

SNVS350B – MARCH 2005 – REVISED MARCH 2013

www.ti.com

Current Limit/Current Sense

The LM5041A provides cycle-by-cycle over-current protection. If the voltage at the CS comparator (CS pin

voltage plus slope comp voltage) exceeds 0.5V the present buck stage duty cycle is terminated (cycle by cycle

current limit). A small RC filter located near the controller is recommended to filter current sense signals at the

CS pin. An internal MOSFET discharges the external CS pin for an additional 50ns at the beginning of each

cycle to reduce the leading edge spike that occurs when the buck stage MOSFET is turned on.

The LM5041A current sense and PWM comparators are very fast, and may respond to short duration noise

pulses. Layout considerations are critical for the current sense filter and sense resistor. The capacitor associated

with the CS filter must be placed close to the device and connected directly to the pins of the controller (CS and

GND). If a current sense transformer is used, both leads of the transformer secondary should be routed to the

sense resistor, which should also be located close to the IC. A resistor may be used for current sensing instead

of a transformer, located in the push-pull transistor sources, but a low inductance type of resistor is required.

When designing with a sense resistor, all of the noise sensitive low power grounds should be connected together

around the IC and a single connection should be made to the high current power ground (sense resistor ground

point).

Oscillator and Sync Capability

The LM5041A oscillator is set by a single external resistor connected between the RT pin and GND. To set a

desired oscillator frequency (F), the necessary RT resistor can be calculated from:

(1)

The buck stage will switch at the oscillator frequency and each push-pull output will switch at half the oscillator

frequency in a push-pull configuration. The LM5041A can also be synchronized to an external clock. The external

clock must have a higher frequency than the free running frequency set by the RT resistor. The clock signal

should be capacitively coupled into the RT pin with a 100pF capacitor. A peak voltage level greater than 3V is

required for detection of the sync pulse. The sync pulse width should be set in the 15 to 150ns range by the

external components. The RT resistor is always required, whether the oscillator is free running or externally

synchronized. The voltage at the RT pin is internally regulated to 2V. The RT resistor should be located very

close to the device and connected directly to the pins of the IC (RT and GND).

Slope Compensation

The PWM comparator compares the current sense signal to the voltage at the COMP pin. The output stage of

the internal error amplifier generally drives the COMP pin. At duty cycles greater than 50 percent, current mode

control circuits are subject to sub-harmonic oscillation. By adding an additional fixed ramp signal (slope

compensation) to the current sense ramp, oscillations can be avoided. The LM5041A integrates this slope

compensation by buffering the internal oscillator ramp and summing a current ramp generated by the oscillator

internally with the current sense signal. Additional slope compensation may be provided by increasing the source

impedance of the current sense signal.

Soft-start and Shutdown

The soft-start feature allows the power converter to gradually reach the initial steady state operating point,

thereby reducing start-up stresses and surges. At power on, a 10uA current is sourced out of the soft-start pin

(SS) to charge an external capacitor. The capacitor voltage will ramp up slowly and will limit the maximum duty

drivers are disabled and the soft-start capacitor is discharged to 0.7V. When the fault condition is no longer

present, a soft-start sequence will begin again and buck stage duty cycle will gradually increase as the soft-start

capacitor is charged.

Thermal Protection

Internal Thermal Shutdown circuitry is provided to protect the integrated circuit in the event that the maximum

junction temperature is exceeded. When activated, typically at 165 degrees Celsius, the controller is forced into a

low-power standby state, disabling the output drivers and the bias regulator. This feature is provided to prevent

catastrophic failures from accidental device overheating.

12

Submit Documentation Feedback

Copyright © 2005–2013, Texas Instruments Incorporated

Product Folder Links: LM5041A