ZHCSF14D March 2010 – October 2018 TPS54260
PRODUCTION DATA.
The TPS54260 requires an external catch diode between the PH pin and GND. The selected diode must have a reverse voltage rating equal to or greater than Vinmax. The peak current rating of the diode must be greater than the maximum inductor current. The diode should also have a low forward voltage. Schottky diodes are typically a good choice for the catch diode due to their low forward voltage. The lower the forward voltage of the diode, the higher the efficiency of the regulator.
Typically, the higher the voltage and current ratings the diode has, the higher the forward voltage will be. Although the design example has an input voltage up to 13.2 V, a diode with a minimum of 60-V reverse voltage is selected to allow input voltage transients up to the rated voltage of the TPS54260.
For the example design, the B360B-13-F Schottky diode is selected for its lower forward voltage and it comes in a larger package size which has good thermal characteristics over small devices. The typical forward voltage of the B360B-13-F is 0.70 volts.
The diode must also be selected with an appropriate power rating. The diode conducts the output current during the off-time of the internal power switch. The off-time of the internal switch is a function of the maximum input voltage, the output voltage, and the switching frequency. The output current during the off-time is multiplied by the forward voltage of the diode which equals the conduction losses of the diode. At higher switch frequencies, the AC losses of the diode need to be taken into account. The AC losses of the diode are due to the charging and discharging of the junction capacitance and reverse recovery. Equation 37 is used to calculate the total power dissipation, conduction losses plus ac losses, of the diode.
The B360B-13-F has a junction capacitance of 200 pF. Using Equation 37, the selected diode will dissipate 1.32 Watts.
If the power supply spends a significant amount of time at light-load currents or in sleep mode consider using a diode which has a low leakage current and slightly higher forward voltage drop.