11.3 Thermal Protection

The TPS2376-H may overheat if the ambient temperature becomes excessive, or if it operates for an extended period of time in classification or current limit. The TPS2376-H protects itself by disabling the RTN and CLASS pins and pulling PG low when the internal die temperature reaches about 140°C. It automatically restarts when the die temperature has fallen approximately 20°C. If V_(RTN-VSS) is less than 10 V when the TPS2376-H restarts, the current limit remains at 765 mA and PG goes open-drain. If the overload has caused V_(RTN-VSS) to exceed 10 V while disabled, the current limit is set to the inrush level and PG remains low. This process is referred to as thermal cycling. Thermal protection is active whenever the TPS2376-H is not in detection.

Short periods of thermal cycling do not significantly impact the reliability or life expectancy, but prolonged periods may. Other components in the power path can be overstressed if this condition exists for a prolonged time as well.