LP2980-ADJ Datasheet, PDF (8/9 Pages) National Semiconductor (TI) – Micropower SOT, 50 mA Ultra Low-Dropout Adjustable Voltage Regulator

Application Hints (Continued)
Off-brand capacitors should be avoided, as some poor qual-
ity Tantalums are seen with ESR’s > 10Ω, and this usually
causes oscillation problems.
One caution about Tantalums if they are used on the input:
the ESR of a Tantalum is low enough that it can be destroyed
by surge current if powered up from a low impedance source
(like a battery) that has no limit on inrush current. In these
cases, use a ceramic input capacitor which does not have
this problem.
CERAMIC: Ceramics are generally larger and more costly
than Tantalums for a given amount of capacitance. Also, they
have a very low ESR which is quite stable with temperature.
Be warned that the ESR of a ceramic capacitor is typically
low enough to make an LDO oscillate: a 2.2 µF ceramic
demonstrated an ESR of about 15 mΩ when tested. If used
as an output capacitor, this will cause instability (see ESR
Curves).
If a ceramic is used on the output of an LDO, a small resis-
tance (about 1Ω) should be placed in series with the capaci-
tor. If it is used as an input capacitor, no resistor is needed as
there is no requirement for ESR on capacitors used on the
input.
EXTERNAL RESISTORS
The output voltage is set using two external resistors (see
Basic Application Circuit). It is recommended that the resis-
tor from the ADJ pin to ground be 51.1k.
The other resistor (R_ADJ) which connects between V_OUT and
the ADJ pin is selected to set V_OUT as given by the formula:
V_OUT = 1.23 + 1.23 (R_ADJ/51.1k)
REVERSE CURRENT PATH
The power transistor used in the LP2980-ADJ has an inher-
ent diode connected between the input and output pin (see
below).
DS100001-24
If the output is forced above the input by more than a V_BE,
this diode will become forward biased and current will flow
into the output pin and out the input pin. This current must be
limited to < 100 mA to prevent damage to the part.
The internal diode can also be turned on if the input voltage
is abruptly stepped down to a voltage which is a V_BE below
the output voltage. To prevent mis-operation, an external
Schottky diode (see below) must be used in applications
where the internal diode may be turned on.
Since the external Schottky diode turns on at a lower voltage
than the internal diode, the Schottky conducts all of the cur-
rent and prevents the internal diode from becoming forward
biased.
DS100001-25
ON/OFF INPUT OPERATION
The LP2980-ADJ is shut off by driving the ON/OFF input low,
and turned on by pulling the ON/OFF input high. If this fea-
ture is not to be used, the ON/OFF input must be tied to V_IN
to keep the regulator output on at all times (the ON/OFF in-
put must not be left floating).
To ensure proper operation, the signal source used to drive
the ON/OFF input must be able to swing above and below
the specified turn-on/turn-off voltage thresholds which guar-
antee an ON or OFF state (see Electrical Characteristics).
It is also important that the turn-on (and turn-off) voltage sig-
nals applied to the ON/OFF input have a slew rate which is
greater than 40 mV/µs.
IMPORTANT: The shutdown function will not operate cor-
rectly if a slow-moving signal is used to drive the S/D input.
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