Applications information – Rainbow Electronics MAX15030 User Manual

Page 8

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MAX15029/MAX15030

Internal p-Channel Pass Transistor

The MAX15029/MAX15030 feature a 75m

Ω (typ)

p-channel MOSFET pass transistor. Unlike similar
designs using pnp pass transistors, p-channel
MOSFETs require no base drive, reducing quiescent
current. pnp-based regulators also waste considerable
current in dropout when the pass transistor saturates
and uses high base-drive currents under large loads.
The MAX15029/MAX15030 do not suffer from these
problems and consume only 315µA (typ) of quiescent
current under heavy loads, as well as in dropout.

Short-Circuit/

Thermal Fault Protection

The MAX15029/MAX15030 are fully protected from a
short circuit at the output through current-limiting and
thermal-overload circuitry. In the fault condition when
the output is shorted to ground, the output current is
limited to a maximum of 1A. Under these conditions,
the device quickly heats up. When the junction temper-
ature reaches +165°C (typ), the thermal-overload cir-
cuitry turns off the output, allowing the part to cool
down. When the junction temperature cools to +150°C
(typ), the output turns back on and reestablishes regu-
lation. Current limiting and thermal protection continue
until the fault is removed. For continuous operation, do
not exceed the absolute maximum junction-tempera-
ture rating of T

J

= +150°C.

Soft-Start

The MAX15029/MAX15030 feature a soft-start function
that slowly ramps up the output voltage of the regulator
based on the value of the capacitor (C

SS

) connected

from SS to GND. Upon power-up, C

SS

is charged with

a 5µA (typ) current source through SS. The voltage at
SS is compared to the internal 0.5V reference (V

REF

).

The feedback voltage for regulation (V

REG

) is the lower

of V

SS

or V

REF

. As V

SS

rises, the regulation voltage

(V

REG

) rises at the same rate. Once V

SS

reaches and

rises above V

REF

, the regulation voltage then tracks the

reference voltage since it is the lower of V

SS

and V

REF

.

The value of C

SS

determines the length of the soft-start

time, t

SS

. Use the following formula to determine C

SS

.

C

SS

= 10

-5

x t

SS

where C

SS

is in farads and t

SS

is in seconds.

Shutdown Mode

The MAX15029/MAX15030 include an enable input. To
shut down the IC, drive EN low. In shutdown mode, the
current drawn by BIAS is less than 2µA. This feature is
extremely useful in an automotive application where the
BIAS input is derived from an always-on LDO expecting
to provide minimal dark current. For normal operation,
drive EN high or connect EN to IN for continuous on
operation. During shutdown, an internal 10k

Ω resistor is

connected between OUT and GND.

Applications Information

Programming the Output Voltage

The MAX15029/MAX15030 feature an adjustable output
voltage from 0.5V to V

IN

using two external resistors

connected as a voltage-divider to FB as shown in
Figure 1. The output voltage is set by the following
equation:

where typically V

FB

= 0.5V. Choose R2 to be 10k

Ω. Or,

to optimize load-transient response for no load to full
load transients, use the resistor-divider as a minimum
load and choose R2 to be 500

Ω. To simplify resistor

selection:

R

R

V

V

OUT

FB

1

2

1

=


⎝⎜


⎠⎟

V

V

R

R

OUT

FB

=

+


⎝⎜


⎠⎟

1

1

2

1.425V to 3.6V Input, 500mA Low-Dropout
Regulators with BIAS Input

8

_______________________________________________________________________________________

0.1uF

ENABLE

SHUTDOWN

R2

R1

INPUT

1.425V TO 3.6V

ALWAYS-ON

INPUT

3V TO 5.5V

OUTPUT

2.2

µF

1

µF

IN

BIAS

OUT

FB

I.C.

GND

EN

SS

MAX15030

Figure 1. MAX15030 Typical Application Circuit

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