Application information

L6738A

26/32

Doc ID 18134 Rev 2

10

Application information

10.1

Inductor design

The inductance value is defined by a compromise between the dynamic response time, the

efficiency, the cost, and the size. The inductor must be calculated to maintain the ripple

current (

value can be calculated with the following relationship:

voltage. Figure 13 shows the ripple current vs. the output voltage for different values of the

Increasing the value of the inductance reduces the current ripple but, at the same time,

increases the converter response time to a dynamic load change. The response time is the

time required by the inductor to change its current from initial to final value. Until the inductor

has finished its charging time, the output current is supplied by the output capacitors.

Minimizing the response time can minimize the output capacitance required. If the

compensation network is well designed, during a load variation the device is able to set a

duty cycle value very different (0% or 80%) from the steady-state one. When this condition

is reached, the response time is limited by the time required to change the inductor current.

Figure 13.

Inductor current ripple vs. output voltage

L

V

IN

V

OUT

–

F

SW

∆I

L

⋅

------------------------------

V

OUT

V

IN

--------------

⋅

=