As the load current decreases, the device enters Power Save Mode (PSM) operation. PSM occurs when the inductor current becomes discontinuous, which is when it reaches 0 A during a switching cycle. Power Save Mode is based on a fixed on-time architecture, as shown in Equation 1.

In Power Save Mode, the output voltage rises slightly above the nominal output voltage. This effect is minimized by increasing the output capacitor or inductor value.

When V_IN decreases to typically 15% above V_OUT, the TP6286x does enter Power Save Mode, regardless of the load current. The device maintains output regulation in PWM mode.