LTC3875_15 Datasheet, PDF (16/44 Pages) Linear Technology – Dual, 2-Phase, Synchronous Controller with Low Value DCR Sensing and Temperature Compensation

LTC3875
Operation
Power Good (PGOOD Pin)
When both V_OSNS+ pins’ voltages are not within ±7.5% of
the 0.6V reference voltage, the PGOOD pin is pulled low.
The PGOOD pin is also pulled low when the RUN pins are
below 1.14V or when the LTC3875 is in the soft-start,
UVLO or tracking phase. The PGOOD pin will flag power
good immediately when both the V_OSNS+ pins are within
the ±7.5% of the reference window. However, there is an
internal 20µs power bad mask when V_OSNS+ voltages go
out of the ±7.5% window. The PGOOD pin is allowed to be
pulled up by an external resistor to sources of up to 6V.
Output Overvoltage Protection
An overvoltage comparator, OV, guards against transient
overshoots (>7.5%) as well as other more serious condi-
tions that may overvoltage the output. In such cases, the
top MOSFET is turned off and the bottom MOSFET is turned
on until the overvoltage condition is cleared.
Fast Transient Operation
The LTC3875 also has a transient improvement function
implemented on channel 2. In normal operation, IFAST
pin is floated. This will disable the transient improvement
circuit. To enable the transient improvement function,
connect a resistor from IFAST pin to ground. The voltage
difference between 0.7V and IFAST pin voltage programs
the window of sensitivity of when a transient condition is
detected. During the load step-up, a comparator monitoring
the ripple voltage will compare with the scaled version of
the programmed window voltage and trip. This indicates
that a load step is detected. The LTC3875 will immedi-
ately turn on the top gate and also double the switching
frequency for about 20 cycles.
The plots in Figure 3 show the improvement with and
without the transient improvement circuit for a typical
12V (V_IN) to 1.5V (V_OUT ) high current application. The
circuit with fast transient shows a near 30% improvement
for the worst case transient steps. For this application,
IFAST pin voltage is programmed to be around 0.62V and
the circuit is not very sensitive to this programmed volt-
age. During the double frequency operation, care has to
be taken not to violate the minimum on-time requirement
of the LTC3875. The fast transient mode is only enabled
in forced continuous mode for channel 2 and is disabled
automatically during start-up, or when output is out of
regulation window.
In order to properly take advantage of the fast transient
circuit, the following equation needs to be satisfied:
V_{SENSE(MAX )}
30mV
•



0.7
– V_IFAST
25k
+
0.9375
f_OSC


1–
V_OUT
V_IN





• 5k ≥ 5 • ∆I_L •DCR
where,
V_SENSE(MAX) is the maximum sense threshold voltage
V_IFAST is the programmed voltage on the IFAST pin
f_OSC is the programmed switching frequency
V_OUT is the converter’s output voltage
V_IN is the converter’s input voltage
ΔI_L is the inductor ripple current
DCR is the winding resistance of the inductor
As a rule of thumb, the value of the left side of the equa-
tion should be 20% larger than the value of the right side
of the equation.
3875fa
16
For more information www.linear.com/LTC3875