
LTC4267
22
4267f
APPLICATIU
Programmable Slope Compensation
The LTC4267 switching regulator injects a ramping current 
through its SENSE pin into an external slope compensation 
resistor (R
SL
 in Figure 11). This current ramp starts at 
zero after the NGATE pin has been high for the LTC4267’s 
minimum duty cycle of 6%. The current rises linearly to-
wards a peak of 5μA at the maximum duty cycle of 80%, 
shutting off once the NGATE pin goes low. A series resis-
tor (R
SL
) connecting the SENSE pin to the current sense 
resistor (R
SENSE
) develops a ramping voltage drop. From 
the perspective of the LTC4267 SENSE pin, this ramping 
voltage adds to the voltage across the sense resistor, 
effectively reducing the current comparator threshold in 
proportion to duty cycle. This stabilizes the control loop 
against subharmonic oscillation. The amount of reduction 
in the current comparator threshold (V
SENSE
) can be 
calculated using the following equation:
  V
SENSE
 = 5μA  R
SL
  [(Duty Cycle – 6%)/74%]
Note: The LTC4267 enforces 6% < Duty Cycle < 80%.
Designs not needing slope compensation may replace R
SL
with a short-circuit.
W
U
U
Applications Employing a Third Transformer Winding
A standard operating topology may employ a third 
winding on the transformer’s primary side that provides 
power to the LTC4267 switching regulator via its P
VCC
 pin 
(Figure 11). However, this arrangement is not inherently 
self-starting. Start-up is usually implemented by the use of 
an external “trickle-charge” resistor (R
START
) in conjunc-
tion with the internal wide hysteresis undervoltage lockout 
circuit that monitors the P
VCC
 pin voltage.
R
START
 is connected to V
PORTP
 and supplies a current, 
typically 100μA, to charge C
PVCC
. After some time, the 
voltage on C
PVCC
 reaches the P
VCC
 turn-on threshold. The 
LTC4267 switching regulator then turns on abruptly and 
draws its normal supply current. The NGATE pin begins 
switching and the external MOSFET (Q1) begins to deliver 
power. The voltage on C
PVCC
 begins to decline as the 
switching regulator draws its normal supply current, which 
exceeds the delivery from R
START
. After some time, typically 
tens of milliseconds, the output voltage approaches the 
desired value. By this time, the third transformer winding 
is providing virtually all the supply current required by the 
LTC4267 switching regulator.
One potential design pitfall is under-sizing the value of 
capacitor C
PVCC
. In this case, the normal supply current 
drawn through P
VCC
 will discharge C
PVCC
 rapidly before the 
third winding drive becomes effective. Depending on the 
particular situation, this may result in either several off-on 
cycles before proper operation is reached or permanent 
relaxation oscillation at the P
VCC
 node.
Resistor R
START
 should be selected to yield a worst-case 
minimum charging current greater that the maximum rated 
LTC4267 start-up current to ensure there is enough current 
to charge C
PVCC
 to the P
VCC
 turn-on threshold. R
START
should also be selected large enough to yield a worst-case 
maximum charging current less than the minimum-rated 
P
VCC
 supply current, so that in operation, most of the 
P
VCC
 current is delivered through the third winding. This 
results in the highest possible efficiency.
Capacitor C
PVCC
 should then be made large enough to avoid 
the relaxation oscillation behavior described previously. 
This is difficult to determine theoretically as it depends on 
the particulars of the secondary circuit and load behavior. 
Empirical testing is recommended. 
The third transformer winding should be designed so 
that its output voltage, after accounting for the forward 
diode voltage drop, exceeds the maximum P
VCC
 turn-off 
threshold. Also, the third winding’s nominal output voltage 
should be at least 0.5V below the minimum rated P
VCC
clamp voltage to avoid running up against the LTC4267 
shunt regulator, needlessly wasting power.
P
VCC
 Shunt Regulator
In applications including a third transformer winding, 
the internal P
VCC
 shunt regulator serves to protect the 
LTC4267 switching regulator from overvoltage transients 
as the third winding is powering up.
If a third transformer winding is undesirable or unavail-
able, the shunt regulator allows the LTC4267 switching 
regulator to be powered through a single dropping resistor 
from V
PORTP
 as shown in Figure 12. This simplicity comes 
at the expense of reduced efficiency due to static power 
dissipation in the R
START 
dropping resistor.