ILC6380/81
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©2001 Fair ch i l d Semicond uctor Corporation
requirements, though, will vary by app lication an d by actual
system design and layout, so generalizations in this area are
difficult, at best.
However, PWM control for boost DC-DC conversion is
widely used, especially in audio-no ise sensitive applications
or applications requiring strict filtering of the high frequency
components. Impala’s products give very good efficiencies
of 85% at 50µ A output (5V product), 87% maximum duty
cycles for high load conditions, while maintaining very low
shutdown current levels of 0.5µA. The only difference
between the ILC6380 and IL C6381 parts is that the 6381 is
configured to drive an external transistor as the switch
element. Since larger transistors can be selected for this
element, higher effective loads can be regulated.
Start-up Mod e
The ILC6380 has an internal soft-start mode which sup-
presses ringing or overshoot on the output during start-up.
The following diagram illustrates this start-up condition’s
typical performance:
External Components and Layout
Consideration
The ILC6380 is designed to provide a complete DC-DC con-
vertor s olu tio n with a m ini mum of e xte rnal co mp o nents. Id e-
ally, only three externals are required: the inductor, a pass
diode, and an output capacitor.
The inductor needs to be of low DC Resistance type, typi-
cally 1Ω value. Toroidal wound inductors have better field
containment (less high frequency noise radiated out) but tend
to be more expensive. Some manufacturers like Coilcraft
have new bobbin-wound inductors with shielding included,
which may be an ideal fit for these app lications. Co ntact the
manufacturer for more information.
The inductor size needs to be in the range of 47µ H to 1µH.
In general, larger inductor sizes deliver less current, so the
load current will determine t he inductor size used.
For load currents higher than 10mA, use an inductor from
47mH to 100µH. [The 100µH inductor shown in the
datasheet is the most typical used for this application.]
For load currents of around 5mA, such as pagers, use an
inductor in the range of 100µH to 330µH. 220µH is the most
typical value used here.
For lighter loads, an inductor of up to 1mH can be used. The
use of a larger inductor will increase overall conv ersion effi-
ciency, due to the reduction in switching currents through the
device.
For the ILC6381, using an external transistor, the use of a
47µH inductor is recommended based on our experience
with the part. Note that these values are recommended for
both 50kHz and 100kHz operation. If using the ILC6380 or
ILC6381 at 180kHz, the inductor size can be reduced to
approximately ha lf of these stated values.
The capacitor should, in general, always be tantalum type, as
tantalum has much better ESR and temperature stability than
other capacitor types. NEVER use electrolytics or chemical
caps, as the C-value changes below 0×C so much as to make
the overall design unstable.
Diff e rent C-values will directly impact the ripple seen on the
output at a given load current, due to the direct charge-to-
voltage relationship of this element. Different C-values will
also indirectly affect system reliability, as the lifetime of the
capacitor can be degraded by constant high current influx
and outflux. Running a capacitor near its maximum rated
voltage can deteriorate lifetime as well; this is especially true
for tantalum caps which are particularly sensitive to over-
voltage conditions.
In general, then, this capacitor should always be 4 7µF, Tan-
talum, 16V rating.
The diode must be of shottkey type for fast recovery and
minimal loss. A diode rated at great e r than 200mA and ma x-
imum voltage greater than 30V is recommended for the fast-
est switching time and best reliability over time. Different
diodes may introduce different levels of high frequency
swit ching noise into the ou tput wav eform, so trying out sev -
eral sources may make the most sense for your system.
For the IL6381, much of the component selection is as
descr i be d above, w it h t he addi ti on of the e xt er nal NP N t r an -
sistor and the base drive network. The transistor needs to be
of NPN t ype, and should be rated for currents of 2A or more.
[This translates to lower effective on resistance and, there-
fore, higher overall efficiencies.] The base components
should remain at 1kΩ and 3300pF; any changes need to be
verified prior to imp lem entation.
As for actual physical component layout, in general, the
more compact the layout is, the better the overall perfor-
mance will be. It is important to rememb er that everything in
the circuit depends on a common and solid ground reference.
Ground bounce can directly affect the output regulation and
presents difficult behavior to predict. Keeping all ground
V
IN
- V
f
V
OUT MIN
T
SOFT-START
(~10msec)
t = 0