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15
2006 Semtech Corp.
www.semtech.com
SC4810B/E
POWER MANAGEMENT
Applications Information (Cont.)
PCB Layout Guidelines
PCB layout is very critical, and the following should be
used to insure proper operation of the SC4810. High
switching currents are present in applications and their
effect on ground plane must be understood and
minimized.
1) The high power parts of the circuit should be placed
on a board first. A ground plane should be used. Isolated
or semi-isolated areas of the ground plane may be delib-
erately introduced to constrain ground currents to par-
ticular areas, for example the input capacitor and the
main switch FET ground.
2) The loop formed by the Input Capacitor(s) (Cin), the
main transformer and the main switch FET must be kept
as small as possible. This loop contains all the high fast
transient switching current. Connections should be as
wide and as short as possible to minimize loop induc-
tance. Minimizing this loop area will a) reduce EMI, b)
lower ground injection currents, resulting in electrically
“cleaner” grounds for the rest of the system and c) mini-
mize source ringing, resulting in more reliable gate switch-
ing signals.
3) The connection between FETs and the main trans-
former should be a wide trace or copper region. It should
be as short as practical. Since this connection has fast
voltage transitions, keeping this connection short will
minimize EMI.
4) The output capacitor(s) (Cout) should be located as
close to the load as possible. Fast transient load cur-
rents are supplied by Cout only. Connections between
Cout and the load must be short, wide copper areas to
minimize inductance and resistance.
5) A 0.1uF to 1uF ceramic capacitor should be directly
connected between VDD and PGND and a 1uF to 4.7uF
ceramic capacitor between VREF and PGND. The SC4810
is best placed over a quiet ground plane area. Avoid pulse
currents in the Cin and the main switch FET loop flowing
in this area. GND should be returned to the ground plane
close to the package and close to the ground side of
(one of) the VDD supply capacitor(s). Under no
circumstances should GND be returned to a ground inside
the Cin and the main switch FET loop. This can be
achieved by making a star connection between the quiet
GND planes that the SC4810 will be connected to and
the noisy high current GND planes connected to the FETs.
6) The feed back connection between the error ampli-
fier and the FB pin should be kept as short as possible,
and the GND connections should be to the quiet GND
used for the SC4810.
7) If an opto-coupler is used for isolation, quiet primary
and secondary ground planes should be used. The same
precautions should be followed for the primary GND plane
as mentioned in item 5. For the secondary GND plane,
the GND plane method mentioned in item 4 should be
followed.
8) All the noise sensitive components such as VDD by-
pass capacitor, RCT oscillator resistor/capacitor network,
DMAX resistive divider, VREF by pass capacitor, delay
setting resistors, current sensing circuitry and feedback
circuitry should be connected as close as possible to the
SC4810. The GND return should be connected to the
quiet SC4810 GND plane.
9) The connection from the OUT of the SC4810 should
be minimized to avoid any stray inductance. If the layout
can not be optimized due to constraints, a small Schottky
diode may be connected from the OUT pin to the ground
directly at the IC. This will clamp excessive negative volt-
ages at the IC.
10) If the SYNC function is not used, the SYNC pin should
be grounded at the SC4810 GND to avoid noise pick up.