Operation Descriptions
General
The LM2645 integrates two synchronous switching control-
lers, one adjustable linear regulator controller and one fixed
3.3V output into a single package. It solves the need within
many portable systems for 5V, 3.3V, 3.3V stand-by and 12V
legacy power supplies.
The two switching controllers, Channel 1 and Channel 2,
operate 180 out of phase to reduce input capacitor size and
cost. They can be independently enabled and disabled. The
external linear regulator controller, or Channel 4, can also be
independently enabled and disabled when Channel 1 has
been enabled.
The output voltages of channel 1 and channel 2 can be set
between 1.3V to 5.5V by external voltage divider, or fixed at
5V and 3.3V respectively without the need of external volt-
age divider. The output voltage of Channel 4 is adjustable
from 3.3V to 15V.
Both switching channels use synchronous rectification and
employ a peak current mode control scheme. Protection
features include over-voltage protection (Ch1 and 2),
under-voltage protection (Ch1, 2 and 4), and positive and
negative peak current limit (Ch1 and 2). UVP function can be
disabled or delayed by an arbitrary amount of time. The
device operates with a wide input voltage range from 5.5V to
30V. The outputs of the two switching channels have inde-
pendent power good monitoring. Channel 1 and channel 2
can be configured to operate in parallel as a dual phase
switching converter for high power applications
Soft Start
In normal operation the soft-start functions as follows. As the
input voltage rises above the 4.2V UVLO threshold, the
internal circuitry is powered on, an internal 2A current starts
to charge the capacitor connected between the SSx pin and
ground, and the corresponding channel is turned on. A MI-
N_ON_TIME comparator generates the soft start PWM
pulses. As the SSx pin voltage ramps up, the duty cycle
increases, causing the output voltage to ramp up. During this
time, the error amplifier output voltage is clamped at 0.8V,
and the duty cycle generated by the PWM comparator is
ignored. When the corresponding output voltage exceeds
98.5% (typical) of the set target voltage, the regulator tran-
sitions from soft-start to operating mode. Beyond this point,
once the PWM pulses generated by the PWM comparator
are wider than those generated by the MIN_ON_TIME com-
parator, the PWM comparator takes over and starts to regu-
late the output voltage. At the same time, the high clamp at
the output of the error amplifier is switched to 2V. That is,
peak current mode control now takes place.
The rate at which the duty cycle increases depends on the
capacitance of the soft start capacitor. The higher the ca-
pacitance, the slower the output voltage ramps. A unique
feature of the LM2645 is that the rate at which the duty cycle
grows is independent of the input voltage. This is because
the ramp signal used to generate the soft start duty cycle has
a peak value proportional to the input voltage, making the
product of duty cycle and input voltage a constant. This
makes the soft start process more predictable and reliable.
During soft start, under-voltage protection is temporarily sus-
pended, but over-voltage protection and current limit remain
in effect. When the SSx pin voltage exceeds 2V, a soft start
time out signal (sstox) will be issued. This signal sets the
under-voltage
protection
into
ready
mode.
See
the
Under-Voltage Protection section.
If either the SS1 or SS2 pin is short-circuited to ground
before startup, the corresponding channel will operate at
minimum
duty
cycle
when
it
is
enabled,
and
the
under-voltage protection of that channel will be disabled.
However, if the soft start has been completed and the output
voltage has been established, then short-circuiting the SSx
pin to ground does not affect the normal operation and
under-voltage protection of that channel.
Shut Down Latch State
This state is typically caused by an output under-voltage or
over-voltage event. In this state, both switching channels
have their top FETs turned off and their bottom FETs turned
on (See the Ch1 and 2 output capacitors discharge section).
The LDODRV pin will be shut down, but VLIN5 and OUT3
will remain unaffected.
There are two methods to release the system from the latch
off state. One is to cycle the input voltage. Another method is
to pull the SD pin below 0.6V and release it HIGH again.
After the latch is released, the two switching channels will go
through the normal soft start process.
Ch 1 and 2 Output Capacitors Discharge
Each switching channel has an embedded 200
MOSFET
with the drain connected to the VOx pin. This MOSFET will
discharge the output capacitor of that channel if that channel
is turned off due to one of the following events:
1.
Its ONx pin is pulled low to below 0.8V.
2.
The IC enters shut down mode or fault state.
3.
The IC enters shut down latch state caused by an output
under-voltage event.
When the output capacitor has been discharged to about
0.8V, the bottom gate-drive (LDRVx) will be turned on, driv-
ing on the bottom FET to discharge the output capacitor
through the filter inductor.
If an output over-voltage event occurs, the HDRVx will be
turned off and the LDRVx will be turned on immediately
regardless of the level of output voltage, thus discharging the
output capacitor through the filter inductor.
When that channel is released from the shutdown latch state
or returned to the on state, it will go through the soft start
process to recover the output voltage.
Fault State
If the input voltage drops to less than 3.9V, or the IC enters
thermal shut down mode, a
″fault″ signal will be generated
internally. This signal will discharge the capacitor connected
between the SSx pin and ground with 24A of current until
the SSx pin reaches 50mV. This will turn off both switching
channels.
Force PWM Mode
This mode applies to both switching channels simulta-
neously. The force-PWM mode is activated by pulling the
FPWM/2NDFB pin to logic low. In this mode, the top FET
and the bottom FET gate signals are always complementary
to each other and the NEGATIVE CURRENT LIMIT com-
parator is activated (see
Negative Current Limit section). In
force-PWM mode, the regulator always operates in Continu-
ous Conduction Mode (CCM) and its duty cycle (approxi-
mately Vout / Vin) is almost independent of load.
LM2645
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