ADP3186 Preliminary Technical Data
Rev. PrB | Page 10 of 24
The positive input of the CSA is connected to the CSREF pin,
which is connected to the output voltage. The inputs to the
amplifier are summed together through resistors from the
sensing element (such as the switch node side of the output
inductors) to the inverting input, CSSUM. The feedback resistor
between CSCOMP and CSSUM sets the gain of the amplifier,
and a filter capacitor is placed in parallel with this resistor. The
gain of the amplifier is programmable by adjusting the feedback
resistor to set the load line required by the microprocessor. The
current information is then given as the difference of CSREF –
CSCOMP. This difference signal is used internally to offset the
VID DAC for voltage positioning and as a differential input for
the current limit comparator.
To provide the best accuracy for sensing current, the CSA is
designed to have a low offset input voltage. Also, the sensing
gain is determined by external resistors so that it can be made
extremely accurate.
ACTIVE IMPEDANCE CONTROL MODE
For controlling the dynamic output voltage droop as a function
of output current, a signal proportional to the total output current
at the CSCOMP pin can be scaled to equal the droop impedance
of the regulator times the output current. This droop voltage is
then used to set the input control voltage to the system. The
droop voltage is subtracted from the DAC reference input
voltage directly to tell the error amplifier where the output voltage
should be. This differs from previous implementations and allows
enhanced feed-forward response.
CURRENT CONTROL MODE AND
THERMAL BALANCE
The ADP3186 has individual inputs for each phase, which are
used for monitoring the current in each phase. This information
is combined with an internal ramp to create a current balancing
feedback system, which has been optimized for initial current
balance accuracy and dynamic thermal balancing during
operation. This current balance information is independent of
the average output current information used for positioning
described previously.
The magnitude of the internal ramp can be set to optimize the
transient response of the system. It is also monitors the supply
voltage for feed-forward control for changes in the supply. A
resistor connected from the power input voltage to the RAMPADJ
pin determines the slope of the internal PWM ramp. Detailed
information about programming the ramp is given in the
Application Information section.
External resistors can be placed in series with individual phases
to create, if desired, an intentional current imbalance such as
when one phase may have better cooling and can support higher
currents. Resistors RSW1 through RSW4 (see the typical application
circuit in Figure 10) can be used for adjusting thermal balance.
It is best to have the ability to add these resistors during the initial
design, so make sure that placeholders are provided in the layout.
To increase the current in any given phase, make RSW for that
phase larger (make RSW = 0 for the hottest phase and do not
change during balancing). Increasing RSW to only 500 Ω makes a
substantial increase in phase current. Increase each RSW value by
small amounts to achieve balance, starting with the coolest
phase first.
VOLTAGE CONTROL MODE
A high gain-bandwidth voltage mode error amplifier is used for
the voltage-mode control loop. The control input voltage to the
positive input is set via the VID logic according to the voltages
listed in Table 4. This voltage is also offset by the droop voltage
for active positioning of the output voltage as a function of
current, commonly known as active voltage positioning. The
output of the amplifier is the COMP pin, which sets the termi-
nation voltage for the internal PWM ramps.
The negative input (FB) is tied to the output sense location with
a resistor (RB) and is used for sensing and controlling the output
voltage at this point. A current source from the FB pin flowing
through RB is used for setting the no-load offset voltage from
the VID voltage. The no-load voltage is positive with respect to
the VID DAC. The main loop compensation is incorporated
into the feedback network between FB and COMP.
SOFT START
The power-on ramp-up time of the output voltage is set with a
capacitor and resistor in parallel from the DELAY pin to ground.
The RC time constant also determines the current limit latch off
time as explained in the following section. In UVLO or when
EN is a logic low, the DELAY pin is held at ground. After the
UVLO threshold is reached and EN is a logic high, the DELAY
capacitor is charged with an internal 20 µA current source. The
output voltage follows the ramping voltage on the DELAY pin,
limiting the inrush current. The soft-start time depends on the
value of VID DAC and CDLY, with a secondary effect from RDLY.
Refer to the Application Information section for detailed infor-
mation on setting CDLY.
If either EN is taken low or VCC drops below UVLO, the
DELAY capacitor is reset to ground to be ready for another soft-
start cycle. Figure 8 shows a typical soft-start sequence for the
ADP3186.