6 2005 Semtech Corp. www.semtech.com
POWER MANAGEMENT
SC1410A
Component Selection
Inductor - A suitable value of inductor for most applica-
tions is 10uH, this value is a compromise between ripple
current and size. A 10uH inductor will result in less than
1A pk. pk. ripple at maximum input voltage and 50% duty
cycle, which is the worst case. Higher inductance values
will result in lower ripple but for similar current ratings, will
be physically larger and more costly. The inductor should
be sized so that it will not saturate at peak current. Peak
inductor current is:-
()
2
VV
fLV
V
II OIN
IN
O
OPK −
⋅
⋅⋅
+=
Input and Output capacitors - There are no special re-
quirements for input and output capacitors beyond the
capability to handle the ripple current. For the input
capacitor(s) the RMS ripple current rating required is ap-
proximately 50% of IBAT and for the output capacitor(s) the
worst case RMS ripple rating required can be determine
from:-
()
32
VV
fLV
V
IOIN
IN
O
RMS ⋅−
⋅
⋅⋅
=
Note that this ripple rating is not a function of IBAT. Worst
case ripple current rating requirement occurs at VO=VIN/2.
Good choices for input and output capacitors are high value
ceramics, special polymer capacitors such as those from
Panasonic or, if space permits, low ESR aluminum
electrolytics. Tantalum capacitors are not recommended,
particularly for input capacitors unless they are specially
tested for surge current and heavily derated for voltage.
RPROG - The current programming resistor determines the
charging current according to the following equations:-
Ω
=
⋅
=⋅=
k in R Amps, in is I
where
I
93.4
R
or
R
465.22
I2000I
PROGBAT
BAT
PROG
PROG
PROGBAT
Soft Start - A capacitor on the VC Pin implements the
soft start function for the SC1410A. Soft start controls
the rate at which output voltage rises so that high cur-
rent surges can be avoided or minimized. In order for
soft start to be effective, the soft start time must be
much longer than the ramp up time of the input supply.
The ratio of the soft start cap to the PROG pin cap must
also be chosen to ensure that the PROG pin does not lag
the soft start. Recommended values for the soft start
capacitor and the PROG pin capacitor are 1uF and 0.1uF
respectively. The input supply must also be specified with
some care. It is possible for a current limited or power
limited input supply to “latch-up” and operate at a lower
output voltage than it is designed for, be sure that the
supply can provide adequate power at the UVLO point.
For example, charging a battery at 800mA with a 3.6V
terminal voltage (typical for a partially discharged single
cell Li-Ion) requires 3.6*0.8=2.88W, allowing for effi-
ciency one might choose a 3.6W Input supply or 300mA
at 12V. However if the 300mA is a hard current limit, as
the supply ramps up through the SC1410A UVLO at 7V,
the available output power is only 7*0.3 or 2.1W. If soft
start is too fast or the input supply ramp up is too slow,
the input supply will become “stuck” at this low level and
will oscillate around the 1410A UVLO point. To prevent
this from happening, choose a higher power input supply
or ensure soft start timings are adequate or use an ex-
ternal UVLO, holding down the VC pin until the input sup-
ply has ramped to a voltage where it can sustain the
required output power.