MAX5986AMAX5986C/MAX5987A
IEEE 802.3af-Compliant, High-Efficiency, Class 1/
Class 2, PDs with Integrated DC-DC Converter
16
Maxim Integrated
Inductor Selection
Choose an inductor with the following equation:
where LIR is the ratio of the inductor ripple current to
full load current at the minimum duty cycle. Choose LIR
between 20% to 40% for best performance and stability.
Use an inductor with the lowest possible DC resistance
that fits in the allotted dimensions. Powdered iron ferrite
core types are often the best choice for performance.
With any core material, the core must be large enough
not to saturate at the current limit of the devices.
V
CC
Input Capacitor Selection
The input capacitor reduces the current peaks drawn
from the input power supply and reduces switching noise
in the IC. The total input capacitance must be equal or
greater than the value given by the following equation
to keep the input-ripple voltage within specification and
minimize the high-frequency ripple current being fed
back to the input source:
where V
IN-RIPPLE
is the maximum allowed input ripple
voltage across the input capacitors and is recommended
to be less than 2% of the minimum input voltage. D is the
duty cycle (V
OUT
/V
IN
) and T
S
is the switching period (1/
f
S
).
The impedance of the input capacitor at the switching
frequency should be less than that of the input source so
high-frequency switching currents do not pass through
the input source, but are instead shunted through the
input capacitor. The input capacitor must meet the ripple
current requirement imposed by the switching currents.
The RMS input ripple current is given by:
where I
RIPPLE
is the input RMS ripple current.
Output Capacitor Selection
The key selection parameters for the output capacitor are
capacitance, ESR, ESL, and voltage-rating requirements.
These affect the overall stability, output ripple voltage,
and transient response of the DC-DC converter. The out-
put ripple occurs due to variations in the charge stored in
the output capacitor, the voltage drop due to the capaci-
tors ESR, and the voltage drop due to the capacitors
ESL. Estimate the output-voltage ripple due to the output
capacitance, ESR, and ESL:
V
RIPPLE
= V
RIPPLE(C)
+ V
RIPPLE(ESR)
+V
RIPPLE(ESL)
where the output ripple due to output capacitance, ESR,
and ESL is:
or whichever is larger. The peak-to-peak inductor current
(I
P-P
)
Use these equations for initial output capacitor selec-
tion. Determine final values by testing a prototype or an
evaluation circuit. A smaller ripple current results in less
output-voltage ripple. Since the inductor ripple current is
a factor of the inductor value, the output-voltage ripple
decreases with larger inductance. Use ceramic capaci-
tors for low ESR and low ESL at the switching frequency
of the converter. The ripple voltage due to ESL is negli-
gible when using ceramic capacitors.
Load-transient response depends on the selected output
capacitance. During a load transient, the output instantly
changes by ESR x I
LOAD
. Before the controller can
respond, the output deviates further, depending on the
inductor and output capacitor values. After a short time,
the controller responds by regulating the output voltage
back to its predetermined value. The controller response
time depends on the closed-loop bandwidth. A higher
bandwidth yields a faster response time, preventing the
output from deviating further from its regulating value.