ISL6556A Datasheet, PDF (17/24 Pages) Intersil Corporation – Optimized Multi-Phase PWM Controller with 6-Bit DAC for VR10.X Application

ISL6556A
ISL6556A to protect the microprocessor load when an
overvoltage condition occurs.
At the inception of an overvoltage event, all PWM outputs
are commanded low until the voltage at VSEN falls below
0.6V with valid VCC or 1.5V otherwise. This causes the
Intersil drivers to turn on the lower MOSFETs and pull the
output voltage below a level that might cause damage to the
load. The PWM outputs remain low until VDIFF falls to the
programmed DAC level when they enter a high-impedance
state. The Intersil drivers respond to the high-impedance
input by turning off both upper and lower MOSFETs. If the
overvoltage condition reoccurs, the ISL6556A will again
command the lower MOSFETs to turn on. The ISL6556A will
continue to protect the load in this fashion as long as the
overvoltage condition recurs.
Simultaneous to the protective action of the PWM outputs, the
OVP pin pulls to VCC delivering up to 100mA to the gate of a
crowbar MOSFET or SCR placed either on the input rail or the
output rail. Turning on the MOSFET or SCR collapses the
power rail and causes a fuse placed further up stream to blow.
The fuse must be sized such that the MOSFET or SCR will
not overheat before the fuse blows. The OVP pin is tolerant to
12V (see Absolute Maximum Ratings), so an external resistor
pull up can be used to augment the driving capability. If using
a pull up resistor in conjunction with the internal overvoltage
protection function, care must be taken to avoid nuisance trips
that could occur when VCC is below 2V. In that case, the
controller is incapable of holding OVP low.
Once an overvoltage condition is detected, normal PWM
operation ceases until the ISL6556A is reset. Cycling the
voltage on EN or ENLL or VCC below the POR-falling
threshold will reset the controller. Cycling the VID codes will
not reset the controller.
Overcurrent Protection
ISL6556A has two levels of overcurrent protection. Each
phase is protected from a sustained overcurrent condition on
a delayed basis, while the combined phase currents are
protected on an instantaneous basis.
In instantaneous protection mode, the ISL6556A takes
advantage of the proportionality between the load current
and the average current, I_AVG to detect an overcurrent
condition. See the Channel-Current Balance section for
more detail on how the average current is measured. The
average current is continually compared with a constant
100µA reference current as shown in Figure 10. Once the
average current exceeds the reference current, a
comparator triggers the converter to shutdown.
In individual overcurrent protection mode, the ISL6556A
continuously compares the current of each channel with the
same 100µA reference current. If any channel current
exceeds the reference current continuously for eight
consecutive cycles, the comparator triggers the converter to
shutdown.
At the beginning of overcurrent shutdown, the controller
places all PWM signals in a high-impedance state
commanding the Intersil MOSFET driver ICs to turn off both
upper and lower MOSFETs. The system remains in this state
a period of 4096 switching cycles. If the controller is still
enabled at the end of this wait period, it will attempt a soft
start. If the fault remains, trip-retry cycles continue
indefinitely as shown in Figure 11 until either controller is
disabled or the fault is cleared. Note that the energy
delivered during trip-retry cycling is much less than during
full-load operation, so there is no thermal hazard during this
kind of operation.
OUTPUT CURRENT, 50A/DIV
0A
OUTPUT VOLTAGE,
500mV/DIV
0V
2ms/DIV
FIGURE 11. OVERCURRENT BEHAVIOR IN HICCUP MODE.
F_SW = 500kHz
General Design Guide
This design guide is intended to provide a high-level
explanation of the steps necessary to create a multi-phase
power converter. It is assumed that the reader is familiar with
many of the basic skills and techniques referenced below. In
addition to this guide, Intersil provides complete reference
designs that include schematics, bills of materials, and example
board layouts for all common microprocessor applications.
Power Stages
The first step in designing a multi-phase converter is to
determine the number of phases. This determination
depends heavily on the cost analysis which in turn depends
on system constraints that differ from one design to the next.
Principally, the designer will be concerned with whether
components can be mounted on both sides of the circuit
board; whether through-hole components are permitted; and
the total board space available for power-supply circuitry.
Generally speaking, the most economical solutions are
those in which each phase handles between 15 and 20A. All
surface-mount designs will tend toward the lower end of this
current range. If through-hole MOSFETs and inductors can
be used, higher per-phase currents are possible. In cases
where board space is the limiting constraint, current may be
pushed as high above 30A per phase, but these designs
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