ISL8203M
11 FN8661.1
July 23, 2014
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Functional Description
PWM Control Scheme
Each channel of the ISL8203M employs the current-mode
pulse-width modulation (PWM) control scheme for fast transient
response and pulse-by-pulse current limiting, as shown in the
“Internal Block Diagram” on page 2 with waveforms in Figure 24.
The current loop consists of the oscillator, the PWM comparator
COMP, current sensing circuit, and the slope compensation for the
current loop stability. The current sensing circuit consists of the
resistance of the P-MOSFET when it is turned on and the current
sense amplifier CSA1 (or CSA2 of Channel 2). The gain for the
current sensing circuit is typically 0.2V/A. The control reference for
the current loops comes from the error amplifier EAMP of the
voltage loop.
The PWM operation is initialized by the clock from the oscillator.
The P-channel MOSFET is turned on at the beginning of a PWM
cycle and the current in the MOSFET starts to ramp up. When the
sum of the current amplifier CSA1 (or CSA2 of channel 2) and the
compensation slope (0.46V/µs) reaches the control reference of
the current loop, the PWM comparator COMP sends a signal to the
PWM logic to turn off the P-MOSFET and to turn on the N-channel
MOSFET. The N-MOSFET stays on until the end of the PWM cycle.
Figure 24 shows the typical operating waveforms during the PWM
operation, where the dotted lines illustrate the sum of the
compensation ramp and the current-sense amplifier output VCSA_,
VEAMP represents the output of the error amplifier, and IL
represents the inductor current.
The output voltage is regulated by controlling the reference
voltage to the current loop. The bandgap circuit outputs a 0.8V
reference voltage to the voltage control loop. The feedback signal
comes from the FB pin. The soft-start circuitry only affects the
operation during start-up and will be discussed separately;
please refer to “Soft-Start” on page 12. The voltage loop is
internally compensated for the dual output mode. For parallel
current sharing mode, external compensation is required.
Synchronization Control
The frequency of operation can be synchronized up to 4MHz by
an external signal applied to the SYNC pin. The 1st falling edge
on the SYNC triggers the rising edge of the PWM ON pulse of
Channel 1. The 2nd falling edge of the SYNC triggers the rising
edge of the PWM ON pulse of Channel 2. This process alternates
indefinitely allowing 180° out-of-phase operation between the
two channels. The switching frequency per channel is half of the
external signal’s frequency applied to the SYNC pin. The
maximum external signal frequency is limited by the SW
minimum on time (140ns MAX) requirement. The maximum
external signal frequency can be calculated as shown in
Equation 1.
where:
•f
SYNC-MAX is the maximum external signal frequency
•f
SW-MAX is the maximum switching frequency per channel
•V
OUT is the output voltage
•V
IN is the input voltage
Output Current Sharing
The ISL8203M’s two channels can be paralleled for dual-phase
operation in order to support a 6A output. In the parallel mode,
the two channels are 180° out-of-phase, which reduces input and
output voltage ripple and EMI. Connect the VOUT1 to VOUT2, FB1 to
FB2, EN1 to EN2, PG1 to PG2, and connect a soft-start capacitor
CSS from SS to SGND; refer to Figure 22. In parallel mode,
external compensation network of a resistor and a capacitor is
required with the typical values of 30.1kΩ and 270pF; refer to
Figure 22.
Similar to the dual-phase operation, multiple modules can be
paralleled for higher current capability. Connect all the modules’
FB pins, COMP pins, SS pins, EN pins and PG pins; refer to
Figure 23.
Overcurrent Protection
Current sense amplifiers CSA1 and CSA2 are used to monitor the
two channels’ internal inductor current respectively. The
overcurrent protection is realized by monitoring the CSA output
with the OCP threshold logic, as shown in Figure 2 on page 1. The
current sensing circuit has a gain of 0.2V/A, from the P-MOSFET
current to the CSA_ output. When the CSA1 output reaches the
threshold, the OCP comparator is tripped to turn off the
P-MOSFET immediately. The overcurrent function protects the
module from a shorted output by monitoring the current flowing
through the upper MOSFETs.
Upon detection of an overcurrent condition, the upper MOSFET
will be immediately turned off and will not be turned on again
until the next switching cycle. Upon detection of the initial
overcurrent condition, the Overcurrent Fault Counter is set to 1
and the Overcurrent Condition Flag is set from LOW to HIGH. If, on
the subsequent cycle, another overcurrent condition is detected,
the OC Fault Counter will be incremented. If there are 17
sequential OC fault detections, the module will shut down under
an Overcurrent Fault Condition. An Overcurrent Fault Condition
will result in the module attempting to restart in a hiccup mode
with the delay between restarts being 8 soft-start periods. At the
end of the eighth soft-start wait period, the fault counters are
reset and soft-start is attempted again. If the overcurrent
condition goes away prior to the OC Fault Counter reaching a
count of four, the Overcurrent Condition Flag will set back to LOW.
FIGURE 24. PWM OPERATION WAVEFORMS
VEAMP
VCSA1
Duty
Cycle
IL
VOUT
1
2
---fSYNC MAX–fSW MAX–VOUT
VIN
----------------1
140ns
-----------------
=(EQ. 1)