SNVSCV4 September 2024 LM3645
PRODUCTION DATA
The LM3645 is designed to operate with a single 10-µF ceramic output capacitor, however two 10 µF capacitors in parallel is recommended to minimize LED current ripple. When the boost converter is running, the output capacitor supplies the load current during the boost converter on-time. When the NMOS switch turns off, the inductor energy is discharged through the internal PMOS switch, supplying power to the load and restoring charge to the output capacitor. This causes a sag in the output voltage during the on-time and a rise in the output voltage during the off-time. The output capacitor is therefore chosen to limit the output ripple to an acceptable level depending on load current and input/output voltage differentials and also to ensure the converter remains stable. To maintain stable boost operation, it is recommended that a minimum effective output capacitance (accounting for DC bias, temperature and part to part variation) be greater than 3 µF.
Larger capacitors such as a 22-µF or capacitors in parallel can be used if lower output voltage ripple is desired. To estimate the output voltage ripple considering the ripple due to capacitor discharge (ΔVQ) and the ripple due to the capacitors ESR (ΔVESR) use the following equations:
For continuous conduction mode, the output voltage ripple due to the capacitor discharge is:
The output voltage ripple due to the output capacitors ESR is found by:
In ceramic capacitors the ESR is very low so the assumption is that 80% of the output voltage ripple is due to capacitor discharge and 20% from ESR.