LT3093
20
Rev. 0
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output, input, and SET pin capacitors. However, due to
the LT3093’s very low output impedance over a wide
frequency range, negligible output noise is generated
using a ceramic output capacitor. Similarly, due to the
LT3093’s ultrahigh PSRR, negligible output noise is gen-
erated using a ceramic input capacitor. Given the high
SET pin impedance, any piezoelectric response from a
ceramic SET pin capacitor generates significant output
noise; peak-to-peak excursions of hundreds of µVs are
possible. However, due to the SET pin capacitor’s high
ESR and ESL tolerance, any non-piezoelectrically respon-
sive (tantalum, electrolytic, or film) capacitor can be used
at the SET pin; do note that electrolytic capacitors tend
to have high 1/f noise. In any case, use of surface mount
capacitors is highly recommended.
Stability and Input Capacitance
The LT3093 is stable with a minimum 4.7µF IN pin capaci-
tor. ADI recommends using low ESR ceramic capacitors.
Applications using long wires to connect the power supply
to the LT3093’s input and ground terminals together with
low ESR ceramic input capacitors are prone to voltage
spikes, reliability concerns and application-specific board
oscillations. The wire inductance combined with the low
ESR ceramic input capacitor forms a high Q resonant LC
tank circuit. In some instances, this resonant frequency
beats against the output current LDO bandwidth and inter-
feres with stable operation. The resonant LC tank circuit
formed by the wire inductance and input capacitor is the
cause and not because of LT3093’s instability.
The self inductance, or isolated inductance, of a wire
is directly proportional to its length. The wire diameter,
however, has less influence on its self inductance. For
example, the self inductance of a 2-AWG isolated wire
with a diameter of 0.26” is about half the inductance
of a 30-AWG wire with a diameter of 0.01”. One foot of
30-AWG wire has 465nH of self inductance.
Several methods exist to reduce a wire’s self inductance.
One method divides the current flowing towards the
LT3093 between two parallel conductors. In this case,
placing wire further apart reduces the inductance; up to
a 50% reduction when placed only a few inches apart.
Splitting the wires connects two equal inductors in parallel.
However, when placed in close proximity to each other, their
mutual inductance adds to the overall self inductance of the
wires—therefore a 50% reduction is not possible in such
cases. The second and more effective technique to reduce
the overall inductance is to place the forward and return
current conductors (the input and ground wires) in close
proximity. Two 30-AWG wires separated by 0.02” reduce
the overall inductance to about one-fifth of a single wire.
If a battery mounted in close proximity powers the LT3093,
a 4.7µF input capacitor suffices for stability. If a distantly
located supply powers the LT3093, use a larger value input
capacitor. Use a rough guideline of 1µF (in addition to the
4.7µF minimum) per 6” of wire length. The minimum input
capacitance needed to stabilize the application also varies
with the output capacitance as well as the load current.
Placing additional capacitance on the LT3093’s output
helps. However, this requires significantly more capaci-
tance compared to additional input bypassing. Series
resistance between the supply and the LT3093 input also
helps stabilize the application; as little as 0.1Ω to 0.5Ω
suffices. This impedance dampens the LC tank circuit at
the expense of dropout voltage. A better alternative is to
use a higher ESR tantalum or electrolytic capacitor at the
LT3093 input in parallel with a 4.7µF ceramic capacitor.
PSRR and Input Capacitance
For applications utilizing the LT3093 for post-regulating
switching converters, placing a capacitor directly at the
LT3093 input results in AC current (at the switching fre-
quency) to flow near the LT3093. This relatively high fre-
quency switching current generates magnetic fields that
couple to the LT3093 output, degrading the effective PSRR.
While highly dependent on the PCB layout, the switching
preregulator, the size of the input capacitor and other fac-
tors, the PSRR degradation can easily be over 30dB at
1MHz. This degradation is present even with the LT3093
desoldered from the board, it is a degradation in the PSRR
of the PCB itself. While negligible for conventional low
PSRR LDOs, the LT3093’s ultrahigh PSRR requires careful
attention to higher order parasitics in order to realize the
full performance offered by the regulator.
To mitigate the flow of high frequency switching cur-
rent near the LT3093, the input capacitor can be entirely
removed as long as the switching converter’s out-
put capacitor is located more than an inch away from
APPLICATIONS INFORMATION