8.2.1.2.4 Output Capacitor

The output capacitor is selected based upon the desired output ripple and transient response. The initial current of a load transient is provided mainly by the output capacitor. The output ripple of the converter is approximately:

Equation 16.

When using MLCCs, the ESR is typically so low that the capacitive ripple may dominate. When this occurs, the output ripple is approximately sinusoidal and 90° phase shifted from the switching action. Given the availability and quality of MLCCs and the expected output voltage of designs using the LM26420, there is really no need to review any other capacitor technologies. Another benefit of ceramic capacitors is their ability to bypass high frequency noise. A certain amount of switching edge noise couples through parasitic capacitances in the inductor to the output. A ceramic capacitor bypasss this noise while a tantalum capacitor does not. Because the output capacitor is one of the two external components that control the stability of the regulator control loop, most applications require a minimum of 22 µF of output capacitance. Capacitance often, but not always, can be increased significantly with little detriment to the regulator stability. Like the input capacitor, recommended multilayer ceramic capacitors are X7R or X5R types.