LP3929 Datasheet, PDF (11/14 Pages) National Semiconductor (TI) – High Speed Bi-Directional Level Shifter and Ultra Low-Dropout CMOS Voltage Regulator and Line

Application Information
EXTERNAL CAPACITORS
Like any low-dropout regulator, the LP3929 requires external
capacitors for regulator stability. The LP3929 is specifically
designed for portable applications requiring minimum board
space and smallest components. These capacitors must be
correctly selected for good performance.
INPUT CAPACITOR
An input capacitance of 1 µF is required between the LP3929
V_BAT pin and ground (the amount of the capacitance may be
increased without limit).
This capacitor must be located a distance of not more than
1 cm from the V_BAT pin and returned to a clean analog ground.
Any good quality ceramic, tantalum, or film capacitor may be
used at the input.
Important: Tantalum capacitors can suffer catastrophic fail-
ures due to surge current when connected to a low-
impedance source of power (like a battery or a very large
capacitor). If a tantalum capacitor is used at the input, it must
be guaranteed by the manufacturer to have a surge current
rating sufficient for the application.
There are no requirements for the ESR on the input capacitor,
but tolerance, bias voltage and temperature coefficient must
be considered when selecting the capacitor to ensure the ca-
pacitance will be 1 µF over the entire operating conditions.
FAST ON-TIME
The LP3929 utilizes a speed up circuitry to ramp up the in-
ternal V_REF voltage to its final value to achieve a fast output
turn on time.
CAPACITOR CHARACTERISTICS
The LP3929 is designed to work with ceramic capacitors on
the output to take advantage of the benefits they offer: for
capacitance values in the range of 1 µF to 4.7 µF range, ce-
ramic capacitors are the smallest, least expensive and have
the lowest ESR values (which makes them best for eliminat-
ing high frequency noise). The ESR of a typical 1 µF ceramic
capacitor is in the range of 20 mΩ to 40 mΩ, which easily
meets the ESR requirement for stability by the LP3929.
The ceramic capacitor’s capacitance can vary with tempera-
ture.
Most large value ceramic capacitors (2.2 µF) are manufac-
tured with Z5U or Y5V temperature characteristics, which
results in the capacitance dropping by more than 50% as the
temperature goes from 25°C to 85°C.
A better choice for temperature coefficient in ceramic capac-
itor is X7R, which holds the capacitance within ±15%.
Tantalum capacitors are less desirable than ceramic for use
as output capacitors because they are more expensive when
comparing equivalent capacitance and voltage ratings in the
1 µF to 4.7 µF range.
Another important consideration is that tantalum capacitors
have higher ESR values than equivalent size ceramics. This
means that while it may be possible to find a tantalum capac-
itor with an ESR value within the stable range, it would have
to be larger in capacitance (which means bigger and more
costly) than a ceramic capacitor with the same ESR value. It
should also be noted that the ESR of a typical tantalum will
increase about 2:1 as the temperature goes from 25°C down
to −40°C, so some guard band must be allowed.
OUTPUT CAPACITOR
The LP3929 is designed specifically to work with very small
ceramic output capacitors, any ceramic capacitor (dielectric
types Z5U, Y5V or X7R) in 1.0 µF to 2.2 µF range with 5
mΩ to 500 mΩ ESR range is suitable in the LP3929 applica-
tion circuit.
It may also be possible to use tantalum or film capacitors at
the output, but these are not as attractive for reasons of size
and cost (see section Capacitor Characteristics).
The output capacitor must meet the requirement for minimum
amount of capacitance and also have an ESR (Equivalent
Series Resistance) value which is within a stable range.
The output capacitor should be placed as near as possible to
the V_DDB pin.
NO-LOAD STABILITY
The LDO of the LP3929 will remain stable and in regulation
with no external load connected to the LDO output V_DDB. This
is especially important in CMOS RAM keep-alive applica-
tions.
MICRO SMD ASSEMBLY
For assembly recommendations of micro SMD package
please refer to National Semiconductor Application Note
AN-1112.
MICRO SMD LIGHT SENSITIVITY
Exposing the micro SMD device to direct sunlight will cause
misoperation of the device. Light sources such as Halogen
lamps can effect electrical performance if brought near to the
device.
The wavelengths which have most detrimental effect are reds
and infra-reds, which means that the fluorescent lighting used
inside most buildings has very little effect on performance.
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