ISL6312 Datasheet, PDF (31/35 Pages) Intersil Corporation – Four-Phase Buck PWM Controller with Integrated MOSFET Drivers for Intel VR10,VR11, and AMD Applications

ISL6312
In high-speed converters, the output capacitor bank is usually
the most costly (and often the largest) part of the circuit.
Output filter design begins with minimizing the cost of this part
of the circuit. The critical load parameters in choosing the
output capacitors are the maximum size of the load step, ΔI,
the load-current slew rate, di/dt, and the maximum allowable
output-voltage deviation under transient loading, ΔV_MAX.
Capacitors are characterized according to their capacitance,
ESR, and ESL (equivalent series inductance).
At the beginning of the load transient, the output capacitors
supply all of the transient current. The output voltage will
initially deviate by an amount approximated by the voltage
drop across the ESL. As the load current increases, the
voltage drop across the ESR increases linearly until the load
current reaches its final value. The capacitors selected must
have sufficiently low ESL and ESR so that the total
output-voltage deviation is less than the allowable maximum.
Neglecting the contribution of inductor current and regulator
response, the output voltage initially deviates by an amount:
ΔV
≈
ESL
⋅
-d---i
dt
+
ESR
⋅
ΔI
(EQ. 43)
The filter capacitor must have sufficiently low ESL and ESR
so that ΔV < ΔV_MAX.
Most capacitor solutions rely on a mixture of high frequency
capacitors with relatively low capacitance in combination
with bulk capacitors having high capacitance but limited
high-frequency performance. Minimizing the ESL of the
high-frequency capacitors allows them to support the output
voltage as the current increases. Minimizing the ESR of the
bulk capacitors allows them to supply the increased current
with less output voltage deviation.
The ESR of the bulk capacitors also creates the majority of
the output-voltage ripple. As the bulk capacitors sink and
source the inductor AC ripple current (see “Interleaving” on
page 10 and Equation 2), a voltage develops across the bulk
capacitor ESR equal to I_C,PP (ESR). Thus, once the output
capacitors are selected, the maximum allowable ripple
voltage, V_PP(MAX), determines the lower limit on the
inductance.
L
≥ ESR ⋅
⎛
⎝
V_I
N
–
N
⋅
V _{O U T⎠⎞}
⋅
V_OUT
---------f-_S-----_â‹---V-----_I--_N-----_â‹---V----_P----_P---₍--_M-----_A----_X----₎--------
(EQ. 44)
Since the capacitors are supplying a decreasing portion of
the load current while the regulator recovers from the
transient, the capacitor voltage becomes slightly depleted.
The output inductors must be capable of assuming the entire
load current before the output voltage decreases more than
ΔV_MAX. This places an upper limit on inductance.
Equation 45 gives the upper limit on L for the cases when
the trailing edge of the current transient causes a greater
output-voltage deviation than the leading edge. Equation 46
addresses the leading edge. Normally, the trailing edge
dictates the selection of L because duty cycles are usually
less than 50%. Nevertheless, both inequalities should be
evaluated, and L should be selected based on the lower of
the two results. In each equation, L is the per-channel
inductance, C is the total output capacitance, and N is the
number of active channels.
2 ⋅ N ⋅ C ⋅ V_O
L
≤
---------------------------------
(ΔI)²
⋅
ΔV_MAX – (ΔI ⋅ ESR)
(EQ. 45)
L
≤
-1---.--2---5-----^â‹---N------^â‹---C--
(ΔI)²
⋅
ΔV_MAX – (ΔI ⋅ ESR)
⋅ _⎝⎛V_IN – V_{O⎠⎞}
(EQ. 46)
Switching Frequency
There are a number of variables to consider when choosing
the switching frequency, as there are considerable effects on
the upper MOSFET loss calculation. These effects are
outlined in “MOSFETs” on page 26, and they establish the
upper limit for the switching frequency. The lower limit is
established by the requirement for fast transient response
and small output-voltage ripple as outlined in
“COMPENSATION WITHOUT LOAD-LINE REGULATION”
on page 30. Choose the lowest switching frequency that
allows the regulator to meet the transient-response
requirements.
Switching frequency is determined by the selection of the
frequency-setting resistor, R_T. Figure 22 and Equation 47
are provided to assist in selecting the correct value for R_T.
RT
=
[10.61
10
–
(1.035
⋅
log (fS))]
(EQ. 47)
1000
100
10
10
100
1k
10k
SWITCHING FREQUENCY (Hz)
FIGURE 22. R_T vs SWITCHING FREQUENCY
Input Capacitor Selection
The input capacitors are responsible for sourcing the AC
component of the input current flowing into the upper
MOSFETs. Their RMS current capacity must be sufficient to
handle the AC component of the current drawn by the upper
MOSFETs which is related to duty cycle and the number of
active phases.
31
FN9289.5
February 25, 2010