INTERSIL ISL8102CRZ-T

ISL8102
®
Data Sheet
October 19, 2005
Two-Phase Buck PWM Controller with
High Current Integrated MOSFET Drivers
FN9247.0
Features
• Integrated Multi-Phase Power Conversion
- 1 or 2 Phase Operation
The ISL8102 is a two-phase PWM control IC with integrated
MOSFET drivers. It provides a precision voltage regulation
system for multiple applications including, but not limited to,
high current low voltage point-of-load converters, embedded
applications and other general purpose low voltage medium
to high current applications. The integration of power
MOSFET drivers into the controller IC marks a departure
from the separate PWM controller and driver configuration of
previous multi-phase product families. By reducing the
number of external parts, this integration allows for a cost
and space saving power management solution.
• Precision Output Voltage Regulation
- Differential Remote Voltage Sensing
- ±0.8% System Accuracy Over Temperature
(for REF=0.6V and 0.9V)
- ±0.5% System Accuracy Over Temperature
(for REF=1.2V and 1.5V)
- Usable for output voltages not exceeding 2.3V
- Adjustable Reference-Voltage Offset
• Precision Channel Current Sharing
- Uses Loss-Less rDS(ON) Current Sampling
Output voltage can be programmed using the on-chip DAC
or an external precision reference. A two bit code programs
the DAC reference to one of 4 possible values (0.6V, 0.9V,
1.2V and 1.5V). A unity gain, differential amplifier is provided
for remote voltage sensing, compensating for any potential
difference between remote and local grounds. The output
voltage can also be offset through the use of single external
resistor. An optional droop function is also implemented and
can be disabled for applications having less stringent output
voltage variation requirements or experiencing less severe
step loads.
• Optional Load Line (Droop) Programming
- Uses Loss-Less Inductor DCR Current Sampling
• Variable Gate-Drive Bias - 5V to 12V
• Internal or External Reference Voltage Setting
- On-Chip Adjustable Fixed DAC Reference voltage with
2-bit Logic Input Selects from Four Fixed Reference
Voltages (0.6V, 0.9V, 1.2V, 1.5V)
- Reference can be Changed Dynamically
- Can use an External Voltage Reference
• Overcurrent Protection
A unique feature of the ISL8102 is the combined use of both
DCR and rDS(ON) current sensing. Load line voltage
positioning and overcurrent protection are accomplished
through continuous inductor DCR current sensing, while
rDS(ON) current sensing is used for accurate channel-current
balance. Using both methods of current sampling utilizes the
best advantages of each technique.
• Multi-tiered Overvoltage Protection
- OVP Pin to Drive Optional Crowbar Device
• Selectable Operation Frequency up to 1.5MHz per phase
• Digital Soft-Start
• Capable of Start-up in a Pre-Biased Load
• Pb-Free Plus Anneal Available (RoHS Compliant)
Protection features of this controller IC include a set of
sophisticated overvoltage and overcurrent protection.
Overvoltage results in the converter turning the lower
MOSFETs ON to clamp the rising output voltage and protect
the load. An OVP output is also provided to drive an optional
crowbar device. The overcurrent protection level is set
through a single external resistor. Other protection features
include protection against an open circuit on the remote
sensing inputs. Combined, these features provide advanced
protection for the output load.
Applications
• High Current DDR/Chipset core voltage regulators
• High Current, Low voltage DC/DC converters
• High Current, Low voltage FPGA/ASIC DC/DC converters
Ordering Information
PART NUMBER*
ISL8102CRZ (Note)
PART MARKING
TEMPERATURE (°C)
PACKAGE
PKG. DWG. #
ISL8102CRZ
0 to 70
32 Ld 5x5 QFN (Pb-free)
L32.5x5
ISL8102IRZ (Note)
ISL8102IRZ
-40 to 85
32 Ld 5x5 QFN (Pb-free)
L32.5x5
ISL8102EVAL1
Evaluation Platform
* Add “-T” suffix for tape and reel.
NOTE: Intersil Pb-free plus anneal products employ special Pb-free material sets; molding compounds/die attach materials and 100% matte tin plate
termination finish, which are RoHS compliant and compatible with both SnPb and Pb-free soldering operations. Intersil Pb-free products are MSL
classified at Pb-free peak reflow temperatures that meet or exceed the Pb-free requirements of IPC/JEDEC J STD-020.
1
CAUTION: These devices are sensitive to electrostatic discharge; follow proper IC Handling Procedures.
1-888-INTERSIL or 1-888-468-3774 | Intersil (and design) is a registered trademark of Intersil Americas Inc.
Copyright Intersil Americas Inc. 2005. All Rights Reserved
All other trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners.
ISL8102
Pinout
2
DAC
2PH
REF0
FS
PGOOD
LGATE1
ISEN1
UGATE1
ISL8102 (QFN)
TOP VIEW
32
31
30
29
28
27
26
25
REF
1
24 BOOT1
OFST
2
23 PHASE1
VCC
3
22 OVP
COMP
4
FB
5
VDIFF
6
19 PHASE2
RGND
7
18 BOOT2
VSEN
8
17 UGATE2
21 REF1
33
GND
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
OCSET
ICOMP
DROOP
ISUM
IREF
LGATE2
PVCC
ISEN2
20 ENLL
FN9247.0
October 19, 2005
ISL8102
Block Diagram
ICOMP DROOP
PGOOD
OCSET
ISEN AMP
OVP
100µA
ENLL
0.66V
ISUM
POWER-ON
OC
IREF
VCC
RESET
PVCC
RGND
VSEN
BOOT1
+1V
UGATE1
SOFT-START
AND
x1
x1
GATE
CONTROL
LOGIC
FAULT LOGIC
SHOOTTHROUGH
PROTECTION
PHASE1
VDIFF
LGATE1
UVP
0.2V
FS
OVP
CLOCK AND
SAWTOOTH
GENERATOR
OVP
BOOT2
UGATE2
PWM1
∑
GATE
CONTROL
LOGIC
+150mV
SHOOTTHROUGH
PROTECTION
PHASE2
x 0.82
LGATE2
REF1
DAC
∑
REF0
PWM2
PHASE 2
DAC
2PH
DETECT
REF
CHANNEL
CURRENT
BALANCE
E/A
FB
1
N
COMP
OFST
∑
OFFSET
CHANNEL
CURRENT
SENSE
ISEN1
3
ISEN2
GND
FN9247.0
October 19, 2005
ISL8102
Typical Application - ISL8102
+12V
VDIFF
FB
COMP
PVCC
BOOT1
VSEN
UGATE1
RGND
+5V
PHASE1
2PH
ISEN1
VCC
LGATE1
OFST
FS
DAC
ISL8102
REF
LOAD
REF1
REF0
+12V
OVP
PGOOD
+12V
BOOT2
GND
UGATE2
PHASE2
ENLL
ISEN2
IREF
DROOP
OCSET
LGATE2
ICOMP
4
ISUM
FN9247.0
October 19, 2005
ISL8102
Absolute Maximum Ratings
Thermal Information
Supply Voltage, VCC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -0.3V to +6V
Supply Voltage, PVCC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -0.3V to +15V
Absolute Boot Voltage, VBOOT . . . . . . . . GND - 0.3V to GND + 36V
Phase Voltage, VPHASE . . . . . . . . GND - 0.3V to 15V (PVCC = 12)
GND - 8V (<400ns, 20µJ) to 24V (<200ns, VBOOT-PHASE = 12V)
Upper Gate Voltage, VUGATE . . . . VPHASE - 0.3V to VBOOT + 0.3V
VPHASE - 3.5V (<100ns Pulse Width, 2µJ) to VBOOT + 0.3V
Lower Gate Voltage, VLGATE. . . . . . . . GND - 0.3V to PVCC + 0.3V
GND - 5V (<100ns Pulse Width, 2µJ) to PVCC+ 0.3V
Input, Output, or I/O Voltage . . . . . . . . . GND - 0.3V to VCC + 0.3V
ESD Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Class I JEDEC STD
Thermal Resistance
θJA (°C/W)
θJC (°C/W)
QFN Package (Notes 1, 2) . . . . . . . . . .
35
5
Maximum Junction Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150°C
Maximum Storage Temperature Range . . . . . . . . . . . -65°C to 150°C
Maximum Lead Temperature (Soldering 10s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300°C
Recommended Operating Conditions
VCC Supply Voltage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +5V ±5%
PVCC Supply Voltage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +5V to 12V ±5%
Ambient Temperature (ISL8102CR, ISL8102CRZ) . . . . 0°C to 70°C
Ambient Temperature (ISL8102IR, ISL8102IRZ) . . . .-40°C to 85°C
CAUTION: Stress above those listed in “Absolute Maximum Ratings” may cause permanent damage to the device. This is a stress only rating and operation of the
device at these or any other conditions above those indicated in the operational section of this specification is not implied.
NOTES:
1. θJA is measured in free air with the component mounted on a high effective thermal conductivity test board with “direct attach” features. See
Tech Brief TB379.
2. For θJC, the “case temp” location is the center of the exposed metal pad on the package underside.
Electrical Specifications
Recommended Operating Conditions, Unless Otherwise Specified.
PARAMETER
TEST CONDITIONS
MIN
TYP
MAX
UNITS
BIAS SUPPLY AND INTERNAL OSCILLATOR
Input Bias Supply Current
IVCC; ENLL = high
-
15
20
mA
Gate Drive Bias Current
IPVCC; ENLL = high, all gate outputs open,
Fsw = 250kHz
-
1.5
3.0
mA
VCC POR (Power-On Reset) Threshold
VCC Rising
4.25
4.38
4.50
V
VCC Falling
3.75
3.88
4.00
V
PVCC Rising
4.25
4.38
4.50
V
PVCC Falling
3.75
3.88
4.00
V
-
1.50
-
V
-
66.6
-
%
ENLL Rising Threshold
-
0.66
-
V
ENLL Hysteresis
-
100
-
mV
COMP Falling
0.25
0.35
0.5
V
System Accuracy (DAC = 0.6V, 0.9V)
DROOP connected to IREF
-0.8
-
0.8
%
System Accuracy (DAC = 1.2V, 1.50V)
DROOP connected to IREF
-0.5
-
0.5
%
DAC Input Low Voltage (REF0, REF1)
-
-
0.4
V
DAC Input High Voltage (REF0, REF1)
0.8
-
-
V
External Reference (Note 3)
0.6
-
1.75
V
PVCC POR (Power-On Reset) Threshold
Oscillator Ramp Amplitude (Note 3)
VPP
Maximum Duty Cycle (Note 3)
CONTROL THRESHOLDS
COMP Shutdown Threshold
REFERENCE AND DAC
OFS Sink Current Accuracy (Negative Offset)
ROFS = 30kΩ from OFS to VCC
47.5
50.0
52.5
µA
OFS Source Current Accuracy (Positive Offset)
ROFS = 10kΩ from OFS to GND
47.5
50.0
52.5
µA
5
FN9247.0
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ISL8102
Electrical Specifications
Recommended Operating Conditions, Unless Otherwise Specified. (Continued)
PARAMETER
TEST CONDITIONS
MIN
TYP
MAX
UNITS
ERROR AMPLIFIER
DC Gain (Note 3)
RL = 10K to ground
-
96
-
dB
Gain-Bandwidth Product (Note 3)
CL = 100pF, RL = 10K to ground
-
20
-
MHz
Slew Rate (Note 3)
CL = 100pF, Load = ±400µA
-
8
-
V/µs
Maximum Output Voltage
Load = 1mA
3.90
4.20
-
V
Minimum Output Voltage
Load = -1mA
-
0.85
1.0
V
49
55
60
µA
Bandwidth (Note 3)
-
20
-
MHz
Slew Rate (Note 3)
-
8
-
V/µs
93
100
107
µA
REMOTE SENSE DIFFERENTIAL AMPLIFIER
Input bias current (VSEN)
(VSEN = 1.5V)
OVERCURRENT PROTECTION
OCSET trip current
OCSET Accuracy
OC Comparator offset (OCSET and ISUM
Difference)
-5
0
5
mV
ICOMP Offset
ISEN Amplifier offset
-5
0
5
mV
Undervoltage Threshold
VSEN falling
80
82
84
%DAC
Undervoltage Hysteresis
VSEN Rising
-
3
-
%DAC
1.62
1.67
1.72
V
PROTECTION
Overvoltage Threshold while IC Disabled
Overvoltage Threshold
VSEN Rising
DAC +
125mV
DAC +
150mV
DAC +
175mV
V
Overvoltage Hysteresis
VSEN Falling
-
50
-
mV
Open Sense-Line Protection Threshold
IREF Rising and Falling
VDIFF
+ 0.9V
VDIFF +
1V
VDIFF
+ 1.1V
V
OVP Output High Drive Voltage
IOVP = 15mA, VCC = 5V
2.2
3.4
-
V
SWITCHING TIME
UGATE Rise Time (Note 3)
tRUGATE; VPVCC = 12V, 3nF Load, 10% to 90%
-
26
-
ns
LGATE Rise Time (Note 3)
tRLGATE; VPVCC = 12V, 3nF Load, 10% to 90%
-
18
-
ns
UGATE Fall Time (Note 3)
tFUGATE; VPVCC = 12V, 3nF Load, 90% to 10%
-
18
-
ns
LGATE Fall Time (Note 3)
tFLGATE; VPVCC = 12V, 3nF Load, 90% to 10%
-
12
-
ns
UGATE Turn-On Non-overlap (Note 3)
tPDHUGATE; VPVCC = 12V, 3nF Load, Adaptive
-
10
-
ns
LGATE Turn-On Non-overlap (Note 3)
tPDHLGATE; VPVCC = 12V, 3nF Load, Adaptive
-
10
-
ns
GATE DRIVE RESISTANCE (Note 3)
Upper Drive Source Resistance
VPVCC = 12V, 150mA Source Current
1.25
2.0
3.0
Ω
Upper Drive Sink Resistance
VPVCC = 12V, 150mA Sink Current
0.9
1.6
3.0
Ω
Lower Drive Source Resistance
VPVCC = 12V, 150mA Source Current
0.85
1.4
2.2
Ω
Lower Drive Sink Resistance
VPVCC = 12V, 150mA Sink Current
0.60
0.94
1.35
Ω
Thermal Shutdown Setpoint (Note 3)
-
160
-
°C
Thermal Recovery Setpoint (Note 3)
-
100
-
°C
OVER TEMPERATURE SHUTDOWN
NOTE:
3. Parameter magnitude guaranteed by design. Not 100% tested.
6
FN9247.0
October 19, 2005
ISL8102
Timing Diagram
tPDHUGATE
tRUGATE
tFUGATE
UGATE
LGATE
tFLGATE
tRLGATE
tPDHLGATE
Simplified Power System Diagram
+12VIN
+5VIN
Q1
2
REF0,REF1
CHANNEL1
DAC
Q2
ENLL
VOUT
OVP
PGOOD
Q3
ISL8102
CHANNEL2
Q4
Functional Pin Description
VCC (Pin 3)
Bias supply for the IC’s small-signal circuitry. Connect this
pin to a +5V supply and locally decouple using a quality
1.0µF ceramic capacitor.
PVCC (Pin 15)
Power supply pin for the MOSFET drive. This pin can be
connected to any voltage from +5V to +12V, depending on
the desired MOSFET gate drive level.
GND (Pin 33)
Bias and reference ground for the IC.
ENLL (Pin 20)
This pin is a threshold sensitive (approximately 0.66V) enable
input for the controller. Held low, this pin disables controller
7
operation. Pulled high, the pin enables the controller for
operation.
FS (Pin 29)
A resistor, placed from FS to ground, will set the switching
frequency. Refer to Equation 33 and Figure 24 for proper
resistor calculation.
2PH (Pin 31)
This pin is used to choose between single or two phase
operation. Tying this pin to VCC allows for 2-phase operation.
Tying the 2PH pin to GND causes the controller to operate in
a single phase mode.
REF0 and REF1 (Pins 30, 21)
These pins make up the 2-bit input that selects the fixed DAC
reference voltage. These pins respond to TTL logic
thresholds. The ISL8102 decodes these inputs to establish
FN9247.0
October 19, 2005
ISL8102
one of four fixed reference voltages; see “Table 1” for
correspondence between REF0 and REF1 inputs and
reference voltage settings.
These pins are internally pulled high, to approximately 1.2V,
by 40µA (typically) internal current sources; the internal pullup current decreases to 0 as the REF0 and REF1 voltages
approach the internal pull-up voltage. Both REF0 and REF1
pins are compatible with external pull-up voltages not
exceeding the IC’s bias voltage (VCC).
VSEN and RGND (Pins 8, 7)
VSEN and RGND are inputs to the precision differential
remote-sense amplifier and should be connected to the sense
pins of the remote load.
ICOMP, ISUM, and IREF (Pins 10, 12, 13)
ISUM, IREF, and ICOMP are the DCR current sense
amplifier’s negative input, positive input, and output
respectively. For accurate DCR current sensing, connect a
resistor from each channel’s phase node to ISUM and
connect IREF to the summing point of the output inductors,
roughly VOUT. A parallel R-C feedback circuit connected
between ISUM and ICOMP will then create a voltage from
IREF to ICOMP proportional to the voltage drop across the
inductor DCR. This voltage is referred to as the droop voltage
and is added to the differential remote-sense amplifier’s
output
An optional 0.001-0.01µF ceramic capacitor can be placed
from the IREF pin to the ISUM pin to help reduce common
mode noise that might be introduced by the layout.
REF (Pin 1)
The REF input pin is the positive input of the error amplifier.
This pin can be connected to the DAC pin using a resistor
(1-5kΩ) when the internal DAC voltage is used as the
reference voltage. When an external voltage reference is used,
it must be connected directly to the REF pin, while the DAC pin
is left unconnected. The output voltage will be regulated to the
voltage at the REF pin unless this voltage is greater than the
voltage at the DAC pin. If an external reference is used at this
pin, its magnitude cannot exceed 1.75V.
A capacitor is used between the REF pin and ground to
smooth the DAC voltage during soft-start.
OFST (Pin 2)
The OFST pin provides a means to program a DC current for
generating an offset voltage across the resistor between FB
and VDIFF. The offset current is generated via an external
resistor and precision internal voltage references. The polarity
of the offset is selected by connecting the resistor to GND or
VCC. For no offset, the OFST pin should be left unconnected.
OCSET (Pin 9)
This is the overcurrent set pin. Placing a resistor from OCSET
to ICOMP, allows a 100µA current to flow out of this pin,
producing a voltage reference. Internal circuitry compares the
voltage at OCSET to the voltage at ISUM, and if ISUM ever
exceeds OCSET, the overcurrent protection activates.
ISEN1, ISEN2 (Pins 26, 16)
This pin enables or disables droop. Tie this pin to the ICOMP
pin to enable droop. To disable droop, tie this pin to the IREF
pin.
These pins are used for balancing the channel currents by
sensing the current through each channel’s lower MOSFET
when it is conducting. Connect a resistor between the ISEN1
and ISEN2 pins and their respective phase node. This
resistor sets a current proportional to the current in the lower
MOSFET during its conduction interval.
VDIFF (Pin 6)
UGATE1 and UGATE2 (Pins 25, 17)
VDIFF is the output of the differential remote-sense amplifier.
The voltage on this pin is equal to the difference between
VSEN and RGND added to the difference between IREF and
ICOMP. VDIFF therefore represents the VOUT voltage plus
the droop voltage.
Connect these pins to the upper MOSFETs’ gates. These
pins are used to control the upper MOSFETs and are
monitored for shoot-through prevention purposes. Maximum
individual channel duty cycle is limited to 66%.
FB and COMP (Pins 5, 4)
These pins provide the bias voltage for the upper MOSFETs’
drives. Connect these pins to appropriately-chosen external
bootstrap capacitors. Internal bootstrap diodes connected to
the PVCC pins provide the necessary bootstrap charge.
DROOP (Pin 11)
The internal error amplifier’s inverting input and output
respectively. FB is connected to VDIFF through an external
R or R-C network depending on the desired type of
compensation (Type II or III). COMP is tied back to FB
through an external R-C network to compensate the
regulator.
DAC (Pin 32)
The DAC pin is the direct output of the internal DAC. This pin
is connected to REF pin using 1-5kΩ resistor, This pin can be
left open if an external reference is used.
8
BOOT1 and BOOT2 (Pins 24,18)
PHASE1 and PHASE2 (Pins 23, 19)
Connect these pins to the sources of the upper MOSFETs.
These pins are the return path for the upper MOSFETs’
drives.
LGATE1 and LGATE2 (Pins 27, 14)
These pins are used to control the lower MOSFETs and are
monitored for shoot-through prevention purposes. Connect
these pins to the lower MOSFETs’ gates. Do not use
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October 19, 2005
ISL8102
external series gate resistors as this might lead to shootthrough.
PGOOD (Pin 28)
PGOOD is used as an indication of the end of soft-start. It is
an open-drain logic output that is low impedance until the softstart is completed and Vout is equal to the VID setting. Once in
normal operation PGOOD indicates whether the output
voltage is within specified overvoltage and undervoltage limits.
If the output voltage exceeds these limits or a reset event
occurs (such as an overcurrent event), PGOOD becomes
high impedance again. The potential at this pin should not
exceed that of the potential at VCC pin by more than a typical
forward diode drop at any time
OVP (Pin 22)
Overvoltage protection pin. This pin pulls to VCC when an
overvoltage condition is detected. Connect this pin to the
gate of an SCR or MOSFET tied across VIN and ground to
prevent damage to a load device.
Operation
Multi-Phase Power Conversion
Modern low voltage DC/DC converter load current profiles
have changed to the point that the advantages of multiphase power conversion are impossible to ignore. The
technical challenges associated with producing a singlephase converter that is both cost-effective and thermally
viable have forced a change to the cost-saving approach of
multi-phase. The ISL8102 controller helps simplify
implementation by integrating vital functions and requiring
minimal external components. The block diagram on page 2
provides a top level view of multi-phase power conversion
using the ISL8102 controller.
Interleaving
The switching of each channel in an ISL8102-based
converter is timed to be symmetrically out of phase with the
other channel. As a result, the two-phase converter has a
combined ripple frequency twice the frequency of one of its
phases. In addition, the peak-to-peak amplitude of the
combined inductor currents is proportionately reduced
(Equations 1 and 2).
Increased ripple frequency and lower ripple amplitude
generally translate to lower per-channel inductance and
lower total output capacitance for a given set of performance
specifications. Figure 1 illustrates the additive effect on
output ripple frequency. The two channel currents (IL1 and
IL2), combine to form the AC ripple current and the DC load
current. The ripple component has two times the ripple
frequency of each individual channel current.
9
IL1 + IL2
IL2
PWM2
IL1
PWM1
FIGURE 1. PWM AND INDUCTOR-CURRENT WAVEFORMS
FOR 2-PHASE CONVERTER
To understand the reduction of ripple current amplitude in the
multi-phase circuit, examine the equation representing an
individual channel peak-to-peak inductor current.
( V IN – V OUT ) ⋅ V OUT
I PP = --------------------------------------------------------L ⋅ F SW ⋅ V IN
(EQ. 1)
In Equation 1, VIN and VOUT are the input and output
voltages respectively, L is the single-channel inductor value,
and FSW is the switching frequency.
The output capacitors conduct the ripple component of the
inductor current. In the case of multi-phase converters, the
capacitor current is the sum of the ripple currents from each
of the individual channels. Compare Equation 1 to the
expression for the peak-to-peak current after the summation
of N symmetrically phase-shifted inductor currents in
Equation 2. Peak-to-peak ripple current decreases by an
amount proportional to the number of channels. Output
voltage ripple is a function of capacitance, capacitor
equivalent series resistance (ESR), and inductor ripple
current. Reducing the inductor ripple current allows the
designer to use fewer or less costly output capacitors.
( V IN – N ⋅ V OUT ) ⋅ V OUT
I C, PP = ------------------------------------------------------------------L ⋅ F SW ⋅ V
(EQ. 2)
IN
Another benefit of interleaving is to reduce input ripple
current. Input capacitance is determined in part by the
maximum input ripple current. Multi-phase topologies can
improve overall system cost and size by lowering input ripple
current and allowing the designer to reduce the cost of input
capacitance. The example in Figure 2 illustrates input
currents from a two-phase converter combining to reduce
the total input ripple current.
FN9247.0
October 19, 2005
ISL8102
change in state of the PWM signal and turns off the
synchronous MOSFET and turns on the upper MOSFET.
The PWM signal will remain high until the pulse termination
signal marks the beginning of the next cycle by triggering the
PWM signal low.
CIN CURRENT
Single phase operation can be selected by connecting 2PH
to GND.
Q1 D-S CURRENT
Q2 D-S CURRENT
FIGURE 2. CHANNEL INPUT CURRENTS AND INPUTCAPACITOR RMS CURRENT FOR 2-PHASE
CONVERTER
Figures 25 and 26 in the section entitled Input Capacitor
Selection can be used to determine the input-capacitor RMS
current based on load current, duty cycle, and the number of
channels. They are provided as aids in determining the
optimal input capacitor solution.
PWM Operation
The timing of each converter leg is set by the number of
active channels. The default channel setting for the ISL8102
is two. One switching cycle is defined as the time between
the internal PWM1 pulse termination signals. The pulse
termination signal is the internally generated clock signal
that triggers the falling edge of PWM1. The cycle time of the
pulse termination signal is the inverse of the switching
frequency set by the resistor between the FS pin and
ground. Each cycle begins when the clock signal commands
PWM1 to go low. The PWM1 transition signals the internal
channel 1 MOSFET driver to turn off the channel 1 upper
MOSFET and turn on the channel 1 synchronous MOSFET.
In the default channel configuration, the PWM2 pulse
terminates 1/2 of a cycle after the PWM1 pulse.
One switching cycle for the ISL8102 is defined as the time
between consecutive PWM pulse terminations (turn-off of
the upper MOSFET on a channel). Each cycle begins when
a switching clock signal commands the upper MOSFET to
go off. The other channel’s upper MOSFET conduction is
terminated 1/2 of a cycle later.
Once a PWM pulse transitions low, it is held low for a
minimum of 1/3 cycle. This forced off time is required to
ensure an accurate current sample. Current sensing is
described in the next section. After the forced off time
expires, the PWM output is enabled. The PWM output state
is driven by the position of the error amplifier output signal,
VCOMP, minus the current correction signal relative to the
sawtooth ramp as illustrated in Figure 3. When the modified
VCOMP voltage crosses the sawtooth ramp, the PWM output
transitions high. The internal MOSFET driver detects the
10
Channel Current Balance
One important benefit of multi-phase operation is the thermal
advantage gained by distributing the dissipated heat over
multiple devices and greater area. By doing this the designer
avoids the complexity of driving parallel MOSFETs and the
expense of using expensive heat sinks and exotic magnetic
materials.
In order to realize the thermal advantage, it is important that
each channel in a multi-phase converter be controlled to
carry about the same amount of current at any load level. To
achieve this, the currents through each channel must be
sampled every switching cycle. The sampled currents, In,
from each active channel are summed together and divided
by the number of active channels. The resulting cycle
average current, IAVG, provides a measure of the total loadcurrent demand on the converter during each switching
cycle. Channel current balance is achieved by comparing
the sampled current of each channel to the cycle average
current, and making the proper adjustment to each channel
pulse width based on the error. Intersil’s patented current
balance method is illustrated in Figure 3, with error
correction for channel 1 represented. In the figure, the cycle
average current, IAVG, is compared with the channel 1
sample, I1, to create an error signal IER.
The filtered error signal modifies the pulse width
commanded by VCOMP to correct any unbalance and force
IER toward zero. The same method for error signal
correction is applied to each active channel.
VCOMP
+
+
FILTER
PWM1
SAWTOOTH SIGNAL
f(s)
IER
IAVG
-
+
TO GATE
CONTROL
LOGIC
÷N
Σ
I2
I1
NOTE: Channel 2 is optional.
FIGURE 3. CHANNEL 1 PWM FUNCTION AND CURRENTBALANCE ADJUSTMENT
Current Sampling
In order to realize proper current balance, the currents in
each channel must be sampled every switching cycle. This
sampling occurs during the forced off-time, following a PWM
FN9247.0
October 19, 2005
ISL8102
transition low. During this time the current sense amplifier
uses the ISEN inputs to reproduce a signal proportional to
the inductor current, IL. This sensed current, ISEN, is simply
a scaled version of the inductor current. The sample window
opens exactly 1/6 of the switching period, tSW, after the
PWM transitions low. The sample window then stays open
the rest of the switching cycle until PWM transitions high
again, as illustrated in Figure 4.
The sampled current, at the end of the tSAMPLE, is
proportional to the inductor current and is held until the next
switching period sample. The sampled current is used only
for channel current balance.
SWITCHING PERIOD
ISEN
SAMPLING PERIOD
NEW SAMPLE
CURRENT
OLD SAMPLE
CURRENT
TIME
FIGURE 4. SAMPLE AND HOLD TIMING
The ISL8102 supports MOSFET rDS(ON) current sensing to
sample each channel’s current for channel current balance.
The internal circuitry, shown in Figure 5 represents channel
n of an N-channel converter. This circuitry is repeated for
each channel in the converter, but may not be active
depending on the status of the 2PH pin, as described in the
PWM Operation section.
r DS ( ON )
I SEN = I x ------------------------L
R
ISEN
CHANNEL N
UPPER MOSFET
IL
ISEN(n)
RISEN
+
I L x r DS ( ON )
+
CHANNEL N
LOWER MOSFET
ISL8102 INTERNAL CIRCUIT
EXTERNAL CIRCUIT
FIGURE 5. ISL8102 INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL CURRENTSENSING CIRCUITRY FOR CURRENT BALANCE
11
The ISL8102 accommodates the use of external voltage
reference connected to REF pin if a different output voltage
is required. The DAC voltage must be set at least as high as
external reference. The error amp internal noninverting input
is the lower of REF or (DAC +300mV).
A third method for setting the output voltage is to use a
resistor divider (RP1, RS1) from the output terminal (VOUT)
to VSEN pin to set the output voltage level as shown in
Figure 6. This method is good for generating voltages up to
2.3V (with the REF voltage set to 1.5V).
For this case, the output voltage can be obtained as follows:
VIN
-
(EQ. 3)
The ISL8102 uses a digital to analog converter (DAC) to
generate a reference voltage based on the logic signals at
the REF0 and REF1 pins. The DAC decodes the 2-bit logic
signals into one of the discrete voltages shown in Table 1.
Each REF0 and REF1 pins are pulled up to an internal 1.2V
voltage by weak current sources (40µA current, decreasing
to 0 as the voltage at the REF0, REF1 pins varies from 0 to
the internal 1.2V pull-up voltage). External pull-up resistors
or active-high output stages can augment the pull-up current
sources, up to a voltage of 5V. The DAC pin must be
connected to REF pin through a 1-5kΩ resistor and a filter
capacitor (0.022µF) is connected between REF and GND.
PWM
SAMPLE
&
HOLD
r DS ( ON )
I n = I L ⋅ ---------------------R ISEN
Output Voltage Setting
IL
In
The ISL8102 senses the channel load current by sampling
the voltage across the lower MOSFET rDS(ON), as shown in
Figure 5. A ground-referenced operational amplifier, internal
to the ISL8102, is connected to the PHASE node through a
resistor, RISEN. The voltage across RISEN is equivalent to
the voltage drop across the rDS(ON) of the lower MOSFET
while it is conducting. The resulting current into the ISEN pin
is proportional to the channel current, IL. The ISEN current is
sampled and held as described in the Current Sampling
section. From Figure 5, the following equation for In is
derived where IL is the channel current.
( R S1 + R P1 )
-−
V OUT = V REF ⋅ --------------------------------+ V OFS – V DROOP
R
(EQ. 4)
P1
It is recommended to choose resistor values of less than
500Ω for RS1 and RP1 resistors in order to get better output
voltage DC accuracy.
TABLE 1. ISL8102 DAC VOLTAGE SELECTION TABLE
REF1
REF0
DAC
0
0
0.600V
0
1
0.900V
1
0
1.200V
1
1
1.500V
FN9247.0
October 19, 2005
ISL8102
Voltage Regulation
In order to regulate the output voltage to a specified level, the
ISL8102 uses the integrating compensation network shown in
Figure 6. This compensation network insures that the steady
state error in the output voltage is limited only to the error in
the reference voltage (output of the DAC or the external
voltage reference) and offset errors in the OFS current
source, remote sense and error amplifiers. Intersil specifies
the guaranteed tolerance of the ISL8102 to include the
combined tolerances of each of these elements, except when
an external reference or voltage divider is used, then the
tolerances of these components has to be taken into account.
EXTERNAL CIRCUIT
R2
C1
COMP
ISL8102 INTERNAL CIRCUIT
VID DAC
DAC
+
FB
R1
+
VOFS
-
-
IOFS
RS1
VOUT
VCOMP
ERROR AMPLIFIER
VDIFF
VSEN
+
RP1
+
+
RGND
-
VDROOP
+
CSUM
DROOP
DIFFERENTIAL
REMOTE-SENSE
AMPLIFIER
IREF
+
ISENSE
AMP
-
ICOMP
ISUM
FIGURE 6. OUTPUT VOLTAGE AND LOAD-LINE
REGULATION WITH OFFSET ADJUSTMENT
The ISL8102 incorporates an internal differential remote
sense amplifier in the feedback path. The amplifier removes
the voltage error encountered when measuring the output
voltage relative to the controller ground reference point,
resulting in a more accurate means of sensing output voltage.
Connect the load’s output sense pins to the non-inverting
input, VSEN, and inverting input, RGND, of the remote sense
amplifier. The droop voltage, VDROOP, also feeds into the
remote sense amplifier. The remote sense output, VDIFF, is
therefore equal to the sum of the output voltage, VOUT, and
the droop voltage. VDIFF is connected to the inverting input of
the error amplifier through an external resistor.
12
V OUT = V REF ± V OFS – V DROOP
(EQ. 5)
Load-Line (Droop) Regulation
In some high current applications, a requirement on a
precisely controlled output impedance is imposed. This
dependence of output voltage on load current is often
termed “droop” or “load line” regulation.
The Droop is an optional feature in the ISL8102. It can be
enabled by connecting ICOMP pin to DROOP pin as shown
in Figure 6. To disable it, connect the DROOP pin to IREF
pin.
REF
CREF
The output of the error amplifier, VCOMP, is compared to the
sawtooth waveform to generate the PWM signals. The PWM
signals control the timing of the Internal MOSFET drivers
and regulate the converter output so that the voltage at FB is
equal to the voltage at REF. This will regulate the output
voltage to be equal to Equation 5. The internal and external
circuitry that controls voltage regulation is illustrated in
Figure 6.
As shown in Figure 6, a voltage, VDROOP, proportional to the
total current in all active channels, IOUT, feeds into the
differential remote-sense amplifier. The resulting voltage at
the output of the remote-sense amplifier is the sum of the
output voltage and the droop voltage. As Equation 5 shows,
feeding this voltage into the compensation network causes
the regulator to adjust the output voltage so that it’s equal to
the reference voltage minus the droop voltage.
The droop voltage, VDROOP, is created by sensing the
current through the output inductors. This is accomplished
by using a continuous DCR current sensing method.
Inductor windings have a characteristic distributed
resistance or DCR (Direct Current Resistance). For
simplicity, the inductor DCR is considered as a separate
lumped quantity, as shown in Figure 7. The channel current,
IL, flowing through the inductor, passes through the DCR.
Equation 6 shows the s-domain equivalent voltage, VL,
across the inductor.
V L ( s ) = I L ⋅ ( s ⋅ L + DCR )
(EQ. 6)
The inductor DCR is important because the voltage dropped
across it is proportional to the channel current. By using a
simple R-C network and a current sense amplifier, as shown
in Figure 7, the voltage drop across all of the inductors DCRs
can be extracted. The output of the current sense amplifier,
VDROOP, can be shown to be proportional to the channel
currents IL1 and IL2, shown in Equation 7.
(EQ. 7)
s ⋅ L + 1
 ------------R COMP
 DCR

V DROOP ( s ) = -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ⋅ ----------------------- ⋅ ( I + I ) ⋅ DCR
L1 L2
( s ⋅ R COMP ⋅ C COMP + 1 )
RS
FN9247.0
October 19, 2005
ISL8102
If the R-C network components are selected such that the
R-C time constant matches the inductor L/DCR time
constant, then VDROOP is equal to the sum of the voltage
drops across the individual DCRs, multiplied by a gain. As
Equation 8 shows, VDROOP is therefore proportional to the
total output current, IOUT.
R COMP
V DROOP = --------------------- ⋅ I OUT ⋅ DCR
RS
VL(s)
L
PHASE1
-
+
(EQ. 8)
I
L1
L
PHASE2
For Positive Offset (connect ROFS to GND):
0.5 ⋅ R 1
R OFS = -------------------------V OFFSET
For Negative Offset (connect ROFS to VCC):
1.5 ⋅ R 1
R OFS = -------------------------V OFFSET
VOUT
I
(EQ. 10)
COUT
DCR
VDIFF
+
VOFS
-
R1
VREF
E/A
INDUCTOR
RS
(EQ. 9)
DCR
INDUCTOR
RS
IOUT
Once the desired output offset voltage has been determined,
use the following formulas to set ROFS:
FB
L2
IOFS
-
+
ISUM
ICOMP
CCOMP
RCOMP
-
DROOP
VDROOP
+
CSUM
IREF
(Optional)
OFS
ISL8102
ROFS
FIGURE 7. DCR SENSING CONFIGURATION
By simply adjusting the value of RS, the load line can be set
to any level, giving the converter the right amount of droop at
all load currents. It may also be necessary to compensate for
any changes in DCR due to temperature. These changes
cause the load line to be skewed, and cause the R-C time
constant to not match the L/DCR time constant. If this
becomes a problem a simple negative temperature
coefficient resistor network can be used in the place of
RCOMP to compensate for the rise in DCR due to
temperature.
0.5V
GND
GND
ISL8102
-
1.5V
+
+
VCC
FIGURE 8. POSITIVE OFFSET OUTPUT VOLTAGE
PROGRAMMING
VDIFF
VOFS
+
R1
VREF
E/A
FB
IOFS
Output Voltage Offset Programming
The ISL8102 allows the designer to accurately adjust the
offset voltage by connecting a resistor, ROFS, from the OFS
pin to VCC or GND. When ROFS is connected between OFS
and VCC, the voltage across it is regulated to 1.5V. This
causes a proportional current (IOFS) to flow into the OFS pin
and out of the FB pin. If ROFS is connected to ground, the
voltage across it is regulated to 0.5V, and IOFS flows into the
FB pin and out of the OFS pin. The offset current flowing
through the resistor between VDIFF and FB will generate the
desired offset voltage which is equal to the product (IOFS x
R1). These functions are shown in Figures 8 and 9.
13
VCC
-
ROFS
OFS
ISL8102
-
1.5V
+
+
0.5V
GND
VCC
FIGURE 9. NEGATIVE OFFSET OUTPUT VOLTAGE
PROGRAMMING
FN9247.0
October 19, 2005
ISL8102
Advanced Adaptive Zero Shoot-Through Deadtime
Control (Patent Pending)
During turn-off of the lower MOSFET, the PHASE voltage is
monitored until it reaches a -0.3V/+0.8V trip point for a
forward/reverse current, at which time the UGATE is released
to rise. An auto-zero comparator is used to correct the rDS(ON)
drop in the phase voltage preventing false detection of the
-0.3V phase level during rDS(ON) conduction period. In the
case of zero current, the UGATE is released after 35ns delay of
the LGATE dropping below 0.5V. During the phase detection,
the disturbance of LGATE falling transition on the PHASE node
is blanked out to prevent falsely tripping. Once the PHASE is
high, the advanced adaptive shoot-through circuitry monitors
the PHASE and UGATE voltages during a PWM falling edge
and the subsequent UGATE turn-off. If either the UGATE falls
to less than 1.75V above the PHASE or the PHASE falls to less
than +0.8V, the LGATE is released to turn on.
1.4
1.2
CBOOT_CAP (µF)
The integrated drivers incorporate a unique adaptive deadtime
control technique to minimize deadtime, resulting in high
efficiency from the reduced freewheeling time of the lower
MOSFET body-diode conduction, and to prevent the upper and
lower MOSFETs from conducting simultaneously. This is
accomplished by ensuring either rising gate turns on its
MOSFET with minimum and sufficient delay after the other has
turned off.
1.6
1.
0.8
0.6
QGATE = 100nC
0.4
50nC
0.2
20nC
0.0
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.0
∆VBOOT_CAP (V)
FIGURE 10. BOOTSTRAP CAPACITANCE vs BOOT RIPPLE
VOLTAGE
Gate Drive Voltage Versatility
The ISL8102 provides the user flexibility in choosing the
gate drive voltage for efficiency optimization. The controller
ties the upper and lower drive rails together. Simply applying
a voltage from 5V up to 12V on PVCC sets both gate drive
rail voltages simultaneously.
Internal Bootstrap Device
Initialization
The two integrated drivers feature an internal bootstrap
schottky diode. Simply adding an external capacitor across
the BOOT and PHASE pins completes the bootstrap circuit.
The bootstrap function is also designed to prevent the
bootstrap capacitor from overcharging due to the large
negative swing at the PHASE node. This reduces voltage
stress on the boot to phase pins.
Prior to initialization, proper conditions must exist on the
ENLL, VCC, PVCC and the REF0 and REF1 pins. When the
conditions are met, the controller begins soft-start. Once the
output voltage is within the proper window of operation, the
controller asserts PGOOD.
The bootstrap capacitor must have a maximum voltage
rating above PVCC + 5V and its capacitance value can be
chosen from the following equation:
Q GATE
C BOOT_CAP ≥ -------------------------------------∆V BOOT_CAP
(EQ. 11)
Q G1 ⋅ PVCC
Q GATE = ---------------------------------- ⋅ N Q1
V GS1
where QG1 is the amount of gate charge per upper MOSFET
at VGS1 gate-source voltage and NQ1 is the number of
control MOSFETs. The ∆VBOOT_CAP term is defined as the
allowable droop in the rail of the upper gate drive. Figure 10
shows the boot capacitor ripple voltage as a function of boot
capacitor value and total upper MOSFET gate charge.
14
Enable and Disable
While in shutdown mode, the PWM outputs are held in a
high-impedance state to assure the drivers remain off. The
following input conditions must be met before the ISL8102 is
released from shutdown mode.
1. The bias voltage applied at VCC must reach the internal
power-on reset (POR) rising threshold. Once this
threshold is reached, proper operation of all aspects of
the ISL8102 is guaranteed. Hysteresis between the rising
and falling thresholds assure that once enabled, the
ISL8102 will not inadvertently turn off unless the bias
voltage drops substantially (see Electrical
Specifications).
FN9247.0
October 19, 2005
ISL8102
ISL8102 INTERNAL CIRCUIT
EXTERNAL CIRCUIT
A 100mV offset exists on the remote-sense amplifier at the
beginning of soft-start and ramps to zero during the first 640
cycles of soft-start (704 cycles following enable). This
prevents the large inrush current that would otherwise occur
should the output voltage start out with a slight negative
bias.
VCC
PVCC
+12V
POR
CIRCUIT
ENABLE
COMPARATOR
10.7kΩ
During the first 640 cycles of soft-start (704 cycles following
enable) the DAC voltage increments the reference in 25mV
steps. The remainder of soft-start sees the DAC ramping
with 12.5mV steps.
ENLL
+
-
For example, a regulator with 450kHz switching frequency
having REF voltage set to 1.2V has TSS equal to 3.55ms.
1.40kΩ
0.66V
SOFT-START
AND
FAULT LOGIC
FIGURE 11. POWER SEQUENCING USING THRESHOLDSENSITIVE ENABLE (ENLL) FUNCTION
2. The voltage on ENLL must be above 0.66V. The EN input
allows for power sequencing between the controller bias
voltage and another voltage rail. The enable comparator
holds the ISL8102 in shutdown until the voltage at ENLL
rises above 0.66V. The enable comparator has 100mV of
hysteresis to prevent bounce.
The ISL8102 also has the ability to start up into a precharged output as shown in Figure 12, without causing any
unnecessary disturbance. The FB pin is monitored during
soft-start, and should it be higher than the equivalent internal
ramping reference voltage, the output drives hold both
MOSFETs off. Once the internal ramping reference exceeds
the FB pin potential, the output drives are enabled, allowing
the output to ramp from the pre-charged level to the final
level dictated by the reference setting. Should the output be
pre-charged to a level exceeding the reference setting, the
output drives are enabled at the end of the soft-start period,
leading to an abrupt correction in the output voltage down to
the “reference set” level.
3. The driver bias voltage applied at the PVCC pins must
reach the internal power-on reset (POR) rising threshold.
In order for the ISL8102 to begin operation, PVCC is the
only pin that is required to have a voltage applied that
exceeds POR. Hysteresis between the rising and falling
thresholds assure that once enabled, the ISL8102 will not
inadvertently turn off unless the PVCC bias voltage drops
substantially (see Electrical Specifications).
When each of these conditions is true, the controller
immediately begins the soft-start sequence.
OUTPUT PRECHARGED
ABOVE DAC LEVEL
OUTPUT PRECHARGED
BELOW DAC LEVEL
GND>
VOUT (0.5V/DIV)
GND>
ENLL (5V/DIV)
Soft-Start
During soft-start, the DAC voltage ramps linearly from zero
to the programmed level. The PWM signals remain in the
high-impedance state until the controller detects that the
ramping DAC level has reached the output-voltage level.
This protects the system against the large, negative inductor
currents that would otherwise occur when starting with a preexisting charge on the output as the controller attempted to
regulate to zero volts at the beginning of the soft-start cycle.
The Output soft-start time, TSS, begins with a delay period
equal to 64 switching cycles after the ENLL has exceeded its
POR level, followed by a linear ramp with a rate determined
by the switching period, 1/FSW.
64 + DAC ⋅ 1280
T SS = -------------------------------------------F SW
(EQ. 12)
15
T1 T2
T3
FIGURE 12. SOFT-START WAVEFORMS FOR ISL8102-BASED
MULTI-PHASE CONVERTER
Fault Monitoring and Protection
The ISL8102 actively monitors output voltage and current to
detect fault conditions. Fault monitors trigger protective
measures to prevent damage to the sensitive load. One
common power good indicator is provided for linking to
external system monitors. The schematic in Figure 13
outlines the interaction between the fault monitors and the
power good signal.
FN9247.0
October 19, 2005
ISL8102
*Connect DROOP to IREF
to disable the Droop feature
DROOP*
successful soft-start, the overvoltage trip level is only REF
plus 150mV. OVP releases 50mV below its trip point if it was
“REF plus 150mV” that tripped it, and releases 100mV below
its trip point if it was the fixed voltage, VOVP, that tripped it.
Actions are taken by the ISL8102 to protect the load when an
overvoltage condition occurs, until the output voltage falls
back within set limits.
ROCSET
ICOMP
- VOCSET+
OCSET
IREF
+
ISEN
ISUM
VDROOP
100µA
+
-
+
OC
+
VDIFF
At the inception of an overvoltage event, all LGATE signals
are commanded high, and the PGOOD signal is driven low.
This causes the controller to turn on the lower MOSFETs
and pull the output voltage below a level that might cause
damage to the load. The LGATE outputs remain high until
VDIFF falls to within the overvoltage limits explained above.
The ISL8102 will continue to protect the load in this fashion
as long as the overvoltage condition recurs.
-
+1V
DAC + 150mV
Once an overvoltage condition ends the ISL8102 continues
normal operation and PGOOD returns high.
SOFT-START, FAULT
AND CONTROL LOGIC
VOVP
Pre-POR Overvoltage Protection
-
VSEN
+
OV
+
PGOOD
x1
-
-
RGND
UV
+
0.82 x DAC ISL8102 INTERNAL CIRCUITRY
FIGURE 13. POWER GOOD AND PROTECTION CIRCUITRY
Power Good Signal
The power good pin (PGOOD) is an open-drain logic output
that transitions high when the converter is operating after
soft-start. PGOOD pulls low during shutdown and releases
high after a successful soft-start. PGOOD transitions low
when an undervoltage, overvoltage, or overcurrent condition
is detected or when the controller is disabled by a reset from
ENLL or POR. If after an undervoltage or overvoltage event
occurs the output returns to within under and overvoltage
limits, PGOOD will return high.
Undervoltage Detection
The undervoltage threshold is set at 82% of the REF
voltage. When the output voltage (VSEN-RGND) is below
the undervoltage threshold, PGOOD gets pulled low. No
other action is taken by the controller. PGOOD will return
high if the output voltage rises above 85% of the REF
voltage.
Overvoltage Protection
The ISL8102 constantly monitors the difference between the
VSEN and RGND voltages to detect if an overvoltage event
occurs. During soft-start, while the DAC/REF is ramping up,
the overvoltage trip level is the higher of REF plus 150mV or a
fixed voltage, VOVP. The fixed voltage, VOVP, is 1.67V. Upon
16
Prior to PVCC and VCC exceeding their POR levels, the
ISL8102 is designed to protect the load from any overvoltage
events that may occur. This is accomplished by means of an
internal 10kΩ resistor tied from PHASE to LGATE, which
turns on the lower MOSFET to control the output voltage
until the overvoltage event ceases or the input power supply
cuts off. For complete protection, the low side MOSFET
should have a gate threshold well below the maximum
voltage rating of the load/microprocessor.
In the event that during normal operation the PVCC or VCC
voltage falls back below the POR threshold, the pre-POR
overvoltage protection circuitry reactivates to protect from
any more pre-POR overvoltage events
Open Sense Line Protection
In the case that either of the remote sense lines, VSEN or
GND, become open, the ISL8102 is designed to detect this
and shut down the controller. This event is detected by
monitoring the voltage on the IREF pin, which is a local
version of VOUT sensed at the outputs of the inductors.
If VSEN or RGND become opened, VDIFF falls, causing the
duty cycle to increase and the output voltage on IREF to
increase. If the voltage on IREF exceeds “VDIFF+1V”, the
controller will shut down. Once the voltage on IREF falls
below “VDIFF+1V”, the ISL8102 will restart at the beginning
of soft-start.
Overcurrent Protection
The ISL8102 detects overcurrent events by comparing the
droop voltage, VDROOP, to the OCSET voltage, VOCSET, as
shown in Figure 13. The droop voltage, set by the external
current sensing circuitry, is proportional to the output current
as shown in Equation 8. A constant 100µA flows through
ROCSET, creating the OCSET voltage. When the droop
voltage exceeds the OCSET voltage, the overcurrent
protection circuitry activates. Since the droop voltage is
FN9247.0
October 19, 2005
ISL8102
proportional to the output current, the overcurrent trip level,
IMAX, can be set by selecting the proper value for ROCSET,
as shown in Equation 13.
I MAX ⋅ R COMP ⋅ DCR
R OCSET = --------------------------------------------------------100µA ⋅ R S
(EQ. 13)
Once the output current exceeds the overcurrent trip level,
VDROOP will exceed VOCSET, and a comparator will trigger
the converter to begin overcurrent protection procedures. At
the beginning of overcurrent shutdown, the controller turns
off both upper and lower MOSFETs. The system remains in
this state for a period of 4096 switching cycles. If the
controller is still enabled at the end of this wait period, it will
attempt a soft-start (as shown in Figure 14). If the fault
remains, the trip-retry cycles will continue indefinitely until
either the controller is disabled or the fault is cleared. Note
that the energy delivered during trip-retry cycling is much
less than during full-load operation, so there is no thermal
hazard.
OUTPUT CURRENT
the maximum amount of load current. Generally speaking,
the most economical solutions are those in which each
phase handles between 25 and 30A. All surface-mount
designs will tend toward the lower end of this current range.
If through-hole MOSFETs and inductors can be used, higher
per-phase currents are possible. In cases where board
space is the limiting constraint, current can be pushed as
high as 40A per phase, but these designs require heat sinks
and forced air to cool the MOSFETs, inductors and heatdissipating surfaces.
MOSFETs
The choice of MOSFETs depends on the current each
MOSFET will be required to conduct, the switching frequency,
the capability of the MOSFETs to dissipate heat, and the
availability and nature of heat sinking and air flow.
Lower MOSFET Power Calculation
The calculation for the approximate power loss in the lower
MOSFET can be simplified, since virtually all of the loss in
the lower MOSFET is due to current conducted through the
channel resistance (rDS(ON)). In Equation 14, IM is the
maximum continuous output current, IPP is the peak-to-peak
inductor current (see Equation 1), and d is the duty cycle
(VOUT/VIN).
I L, 2PP ⋅ ( 1 – d )
 I M 2
·
P LOW, 1 = r DS ( ON ) ⋅  ----- ⋅ ( 1 – d ) + ------------------------------------12
 N
0A
OUTPUT VOLTAGE
0V
FIGURE 14. OVERCURRENT BEHAVIOR IN HICCUP MODE
General Design Guide
This design guide is intended to provide a high-level
explanation of the steps necessary to create a multi-phase
power converter. It is assumed that the reader is familiar with
many of the basic skills and techniques referenced below. In
addition to this guide, Intersil provides complete reference
designs that include schematics, bills of materials, and example
board layouts for many applications.
Power Stages
The first step in designing a multi-phase converter is to
determine the number of phases. This determination
depends heavily on the cost analysis which in turn depends
on system constraints that differ from one design to the next.
Principally, the designer will be concerned with whether
components can be mounted on both sides of the circuit
board, whether through-hole components are permitted, the
total board space available for power-supply circuitry, and
17
(EQ. 14)
An additional term can be added to the lower-MOSFET loss
equation to account for additional loss accrued during the
dead time when inductor current is flowing through the
lower-MOSFET body diode. This term is dependent on the
diode forward voltage at IM, VD(ON), the switching
frequency, FSW, and the length of dead times, td1 and td2, at
the beginning and the end of the lower-MOSFET conduction
interval respectively.
I M I PP
I M I PP
- + --------- ⋅ t d1 +  -----–
P LOW, 2 = V D ( ON ) ⋅ F SW ⋅  ----- ⋅ t
 N -------N
2 
2  d2
(EQ. 15)
The total maximum power dissipated in each lower MOSFET
is approximated by the summation of PLOW,1 and PLOW,2.
Upper MOSFET Power Calculation
In addition to rDS(ON) losses, a large portion of the upperMOSFET losses are due to currents conducted across the
input voltage (VIN) during switching. Since a substantially
higher portion of the upper-MOSFET losses are dependent
on switching frequency, the power calculation is more
complex. Upper MOSFET losses can be divided into
separate components involving the upper-MOSFET
switching times, the lower-MOSFET body-diode reverserecovery charge, Qrr, and the upper MOSFET rDS(ON)
conduction loss.
FN9247.0
October 19, 2005
ISL8102
When the upper MOSFET turns off, the lower MOSFET does
not conduct any portion of the inductor current until the
voltage at the phase node falls below ground. Once the
lower MOSFET begins conducting, the current in the upper
MOSFET falls to zero as the current in the lower MOSFET
ramps up to assume the full inductor current. In Equation 16,
the required time for this commutation is t1 and the
approximated associated power loss is PUP,1.
When designing the ISL8102 into an application, it is
recommended that the following calculation is used to
ensure safe operation at the desired frequency for the
selected MOSFETs. The total gate drive power losses,
PQg_TOT, due to the gate charge of MOSFETs and the
integrated driver’s internal circuitry and their corresponding
average driver current can be estimated with Equations 20
and 21, respectively.
I M I PP  t 1 
P UP,1 ≈ V IN ⋅  ----- ⋅  ----  ⋅ F SW
 N- + -------2   2
P Qg_TOT = P Qg_Q1 + P Qg_Q2 + I Q ⋅ VCC
(EQ. 16)
At turn on, the upper MOSFET begins to conduct and this
transition occurs over a time t2. In Equation 17, the
approximate power loss is PUP,2.
I M I PP  t 2 
P UP, 2 ≈ V IN ⋅  ----- ⋅  ----  ⋅ F SW
 N- – -------2   2
(EQ. 17)
A third component involves the lower MOSFET reverserecovery charge, Qrr. Since the inductor current has fully
commutated to the upper MOSFET before the lowerMOSFET body diode can recover all of Qrr, it is conducted
through the upper MOSFET across VIN. The power
dissipated as a result is PUP,3.
(EQ. 18)
P UP,3 = V IN ⋅ Q rr ⋅ F SW
Finally, the resistive part of the upper MOSFET is given in
Equation 19 as PUP,4.
 I M
P UP,4 ≈ r DS ( ON ) ⋅  -----
 N
2
I PP2
⋅ d + --------12
(EQ. 19)
The total power dissipated by the upper MOSFET at full load
can now be approximated as the summation of the results
from Equations 16, 17, 18 and 19. Since the power
equations depend on MOSFET parameters, choosing the
correct MOSFETs can be an iterative process involving
repetitive solutions to the loss equations for different
MOSFETs and different switching frequencies.
Package Power Dissipation
When choosing MOSFETs it is important to consider the
amount of power being dissipated in the integrated drivers
located in the controller. Since there are a total of two drivers
in the controller package, the total power dissipated by both
drivers must be less than the maximum allowable power
dissipation for the QFN package.
Calculating the power dissipation in the drivers for a desired
application is critical to ensure safe operation. Exceeding the
maximum allowable power dissipation level will push the IC
beyond the maximum recommended operating junction
temperature of 125°C. The maximum allowable IC power
dissipation for the 5x5 QFN package is approximately 4W at
room temperature. See Layout Considerations paragraph for
thermal transfer improvement suggestions.
18
(EQ. 20)
3
P Qg_Q1 = --- ⋅ Q G1 ⋅ PVCC ⋅ F SW ⋅ N Q1 ⋅ N PHASE
2
P Qg_Q2 = Q G2 ⋅ PVCC ⋅ F SW ⋅ N Q2 ⋅ N PHASE
3
I DR =  --- ⋅ Q G1 ⋅ N
+ Q G2 ⋅ N Q2 ⋅ N PHASE ⋅ F SW + I Q
2

Q1
(EQ. 21)
In Equations 20 and 21, PQg_Q1 is the total upper gate drive
power loss and PQg_Q2 is the total lower gate drive power
loss; the gate charge (QG1 and QG2) is defined at the
particular gate to source drive voltage PVCC in the
corresponding MOSFET data sheet; IQ is the driver total
quiescent current with no load at both drive outputs; NQ1 and
NQ2 are the number of upper and lower MOSFETs per phase,
respectively; NPHASE is the number of active phases. The
IQ*VCC product is the quiescent power of the controller
without capacitive load and is typically 75mW at 300kHz.
The total gate drive power losses are dissipated among the
resistive components along the transition path and in the
bootstrap diode. The portion of the total power dissipated in
the controller itself is the power dissipated in the upper drive
path resistance, PDR_UP, the lower drive path resistance,
PDR_LOW, and in the boot strap diode, PBOOT. The rest of
the power will be dissipated by the external gate resistors
(RG1 and RG2) and the internal gate resistors (RGI1 and
RGI2) of the MOSFETs. Figures 15 and 16 show the typical
upper and lower gate drives turn-on transition path. The total
power dissipation in the controller itself, PDR, can be roughly
estimated as:
P DR = P DR_UP + P DR_LOW + P BOOT + ( I Q • VCC )
(EQ. 22)
P Qg_Q1
P BOOT = --------------------3
R LO1
R HI1

 P Qg_Q1
+ --------------------------------------- ⋅ --------------------P DR_UP =  -------------------------------------3
 R HI1 + R EXT1 R LO1 + R EXT1
R LO2
R HI2

 P Qg_Q2
P DR_LOW =  -------------------------------------+ --------------------------------------- ⋅ --------------------2
R
+
R
R
+
R
 HI2
EXT2
LO2
EXT2
R GI1
R EXT1 = R G1 + ------------N Q1
R GI2
R EXT2 = R G2 + ------------N Q2
FN9247.0
October 19, 2005
ISL8102
PVCC
BOOT
D
CGD
RHI1
G
UGATE
RLO1
RG1
CDS
RGI1
CGS
Q1
S
PHASE
FIGURE 15. TYPICAL UPPER-GATE DRIVE TURN-ON PATH
PVCC
D
CGD
RHI2
G
LGATE
RLO2
RG2
CDS
RGI2
CGS
Q2
∆T 2
R ISEN ,2 = R ISEN ⋅ ---------∆T 1
(EQ. 24)
In Equation 24, make sure that ∆T2 is the desired temperature
rise above the ambient temperature, and ∆T1 is the measured
temperature rise above the ambient temperature. While a
single adjustment according to Equation 24 is usually
sufficient, it may occasionally be necessary to adjust RISEN
two or more times to achieve optimal thermal balance
between all channels.
Load Line Regulation Component Selection (DCR
Current Sensing)
S
FIGURE 16. TYPICAL LOWER-GATE DRIVE TURN-ON PATH
Current Balancing Component Selection
The ISL8102 senses the channel load current by sampling
the voltage across the lower MOSFET rDS(ON), as shown in
Figure 17. The ISEN pins are denoted ISEN1, and ISEN2.
The resistors connected between these pins and the
respective phase nodes determine the gains in the channel
current balance loop.
VIN
CHANNEL N
UPPER MOSFET
IL
For accurate load line regulation, the ISL8102 senses the
total output current by detecting the voltage across the
output inductor DCR of each channel (As described in the
Load Line Regulation section). As Figure 18 illustrates, an
R-C network is required to accurately sense the inductor
DCR voltage and convert this information into a “droop”
voltage, which is proportional to the total output current.
Choosing the components for this current sense network is a
two step process. First, RCOMP and CCOMP must be
chosen so that the time constant of this RCOMP-CCOMP
network matches the time constant of the inductor L/DCR.
Then the resistor RS must be chosen to set the current
sense network gain, obtaining the desired full load droop
voltage. Follow the steps below to choose the component
values for this R-C network.
1. Choose an arbitrary value for CCOMP. The recommended
value is 0.01µF.
ISEN(n)
2. Plug the inductor L and DCR component values, and the
values for CCOMP chosen in steps 1, into Equation 25 to
calculate the value for RCOMP.
RISEN
ISL8102
I x r
L DS ( ON )
L
R COMP = --------------------------------------DCR ⋅ C COMP
+
CHANNEL N
LOWER MOSFET
FIGURE 17. ISL8102 INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL CURRENTSENSING CIRCUITRY
Select values for these resistors based on the room
temperature rDS(ON) of the lower MOSFETs; the full-load
operating current, IFL; and the number of phases, N using
Equation 23.
r DS ( ON )
R ISEN = ----------------------- ⋅
50 ⋅ 10 – 6
In certain circumstances, it may be necessary to adjust the
value of one or more ISEN resistors. When the components of
one or more channels are inhibited from effectively dissipating
their heat so that the affected channels run hotter than
desired, choose new, smaller values of RISEN for the affected
phases (see the section entitled Channel Current Balance).
Choose RISEN,2 in proportion to the desired decrease in
temperature rise in order to cause proportionally less current
to flow in the hotter phase.
I FL
------N
(EQ. 25)
3. Use the new value for RCOMP obtained from Equation 25,
as well as the desired full load current, IFL, full load droop
voltage, VDROOP, and inductor DCR in Equation 26 to
calculate the value for RS.
I FL
R S = ------------------------- ⋅ R COMP ⋅ DCR
V DROOP
(EQ. 26)
(EQ. 23)
19
FN9247.0
October 19, 2005
L
PHASE1
VL(s)
-
+
ISL8102
INDUCTOR
I
RS
L1
L
PHASE2
IOUT
DCR
VOUT
COUT
∆V2
∆V1
VOUT
DCR
INDUCTOR
I
RS
L2
ITRAN
∆I
-
+
ISUM
CCOMP
RCOMP
FIGURE 19. TIME CONSTANT MISMATCH BEHAVIOR
ICOMP
-
Compensation
DROOP
VDROOP
IREF
The two opposing goals of compensating the voltage
regulator are stability and speed. Depending on whether the
regulator employs the optional load-line regulation as
described in Load-Line Regulation, there are two distinct
methods for achieving these goals.
+
ISL8102
Compensating the Load-Line Regulated Converter
FIGURE 18. DCR SENSING CONFIGURATION
Due to errors in the inductance or DCR it may be necessary
to adjust the value of RCOMP to match the time constants
correctly. The effects of time constant mismatch can be seen
in the form of droop overshoot or undershoot during the
initial load transient spike, as shown in Figure 19. Follow the
steps below to ensure the R-C and inductor L/DCR time
constants are matched accurately.
The load-line regulated converter behaves in a similar
manner to a peak current mode controller because the two
poles at the output filter L-C resonant frequency split with the
introduction of current information into the control loop. The
final location of these poles is determined by the system
function, the gain of the current signal, and the value of the
compensation components, R2 and C1.
C2 (OPTIONAL)
1. Capture a transient event with the oscilloscope set to
about L/DCR/2 (sec/div). For example, with L = 1µH and
DCR = 1mΩ, set the oscilloscope to 500µs/div.
R2
C1
COMP
2. Record ∆V1 and ∆V2 as shown in Figure 19.
3. Select a new value, RCOMP,2, for the time constant
resistor based on the original value, RCOMP,1, using the
following equation.
∆V 1
R COMP, 2 = R COMP, 1 ⋅ ---------∆V 2
ISL8102
R1
(EQ. 27)
4. Replace RCOMP with the new value and check to see that
the error is corrected. Repeat the procedure if necessary.
After choosing a new value for RCOMP, it will most likely be
necessary to adjust the value of RS to obtain the desired full
load droop voltage. Use Equation 26 to obtain the new value
for RS.
20
FB
VDIFF
FIGURE 20. COMPENSATION CONFIGURATION FOR
LOAD-LINE REGULATED ISL8102 CIRCUIT
Since the system poles and zero are affected by the values
of the components that are meant to compensate them, the
solution to the system equation becomes fairly complicated.
Fortunately, there is a simple approximation that comes very
close to an optimal solution. Treating the system as though it
were a voltage-mode regulator, by compensating the L-C
poles and the ESR zero of the voltage mode approximation,
FN9247.0
October 19, 2005
ISL8102
yields a solution that is always stable with very close to ideal
transient performance.
The feedback resistor, R1, has already been chosen as
outlined in Load-Line Regulation Resistor. Select a target
bandwidth for the compensated system, F0. The target
bandwidth must be large enough to assure adequate
transient performance, but smaller than 1/3 of the perchannel switching frequency. The values of the
compensation components depend on the relationships of f0
to the L-C pole frequency and the ESR zero frequency. For
each of the following three, there is a separate set of
equations for the compensation components.
Case 1:
1
--------------------------- > F 0
2π ⋅ L ⋅ C
The optional capacitor C2, is sometimes needed to bypass
noise away from the PWM comparator (see Figure 20). Keep
a position available for C2, and be prepared to install a high
frequency capacitor of between 22pF and 150pF in case any
leading edge jitter problem is noted.
Compensating the Converter operating without
Load-Line Regulation
The ISL8102 multi-phase converter operating without load
line regulation behaves in a similar manner to a voltagemode controller. This section highlights the design
consideration for a voltage-mode controller requiring external
compensation. To address a broad range of applications, a
type-3 feedback network is recommended (see Figure 21).
C2
2π ⋅ F 0 ⋅ V OSC ⋅ L ⋅ C
R 2 = R 1 ⋅ -----------------------------------------------------------0.66 ⋅ V
IN
R2
0.66 ⋅ V IN
C 1 = -----------------------------------------------2π ⋅ V OSC ⋅ R 1 ⋅ f 0
1
1
--------------------------- ≤ F 0 < -------------------------------2π ⋅ C ⋅ ESR
2π ⋅ L ⋅ C
R3
COMP
FB
C3
Case 2:
C1
R1
VDIFF
ISL8102
2
V OSC ⋅ ( 2π ) 2 ⋅ F 0 ⋅ L ⋅ C
R 2 = R 1 ⋅ ---------------------------------------------------------------0.66 ⋅ V IN
(EQ. 28)
0.66 ⋅ V IN
C 1 = ------------------------------------------------------------------------------2
2
( 2π ) ⋅ F 0 ⋅ V OSC ⋅ R 1 ⋅ L ⋅ C
Case 3:
1
F 0 > --------------------------------2π ⋅ C ⋅ ESR
2π ⋅ F 0 ⋅ V OSC ⋅ L
R 2 = R 1 ⋅ ----------------------------------------------0.66 ⋅ V IN ⋅ ESR
0.66 ⋅ V IN ⋅ ESR ⋅ C
C 2 = -------------------------------------------------------------2π ⋅ V OSC ⋅ R 1 ⋅ F 0 ⋅ L
In Equations 28, L is the per-channel filter inductance
divided by the number of active channels; C is the sum total
of all output capacitors; ESR is the equivalent series
resistance of the bulk output filter capacitance; and VOSC is
the peak-to-peak sawtooth signal amplitude as described in
the Electrical Specifications.
Once selected, the compensation values in Equations 28
assure a stable converter with reasonable transient
performance. In most cases, transient performance can be
improved by making adjustments to R2. Slowly increase the
value of R2 while observing the transient performance on an
oscilloscope until no further improvement is noted. Normally,
C1 will not need adjustment. Keep the value of C1 from
Equations 28 unless some performance issue is noted.
21
FIGURE 21. COMPENSATION CONFIGURATION FOR
NON-LOAD-LINE REGULATED ISL8102 CIRCUIT
Figure 22 highlights the voltage-mode control loop for a
synchronous-rectified buck converter, applicable, with a
small number of adjustments, to the multi-phase ISL8102
circuit. The output voltage (VOUT) is regulated to the
reference voltage, VREF, level. The error amplifier output
(COMP pin voltage) is compared with the oscillator (OSC)
modified saw-tooth wave to provide a pulse-width modulated
wave with an amplitude of VIN at the PHASE node. The
PWM wave is smoothed by the output filter (L and C). The
output filter capacitor bank’s equivalent series resistance is
represented by the series resistor ESR.
The modulator transfer function is the small-signal transfer
function of VOUT /VCOMP. This function is dominated by a
DC gain, given by dMAXVIN /VOSC, and shaped by the
output filter, with a double pole break frequency at FLC and a
zero at FCE . For the purpose of this analysis, L and DCR
represent the individual channel inductance and its DCR
divided by 2 (equivalent parallel value of the two output
inductors), while C and ESR represents the total output
capacitance and its equivalent series resistance.
1
F LC = --------------------------2π ⋅ L ⋅ C
1
F CE = --------------------------------2π ⋅ C ⋅ ESR
FN9247.0
October 19, 2005
ISL8102
2. Calculate C1 such that FZ1 is placed at a fraction of the FLC,
at 0.1 to 0.75 of FLC (to adjust, change the 0.5 factor to
desired number). The higher the quality factor of the output
filter and/or the higher the ratio FCE/FLC, the lower the FZ1
frequency (to maximize phase boost at FLC).
C2
COMP
R2
C3
R3
C1
1
C 1 = ----------------------------------------------2π ⋅ R 2 ⋅ 0.5 ⋅ F LC
FB
+
E/A
R1
3. Calculate C2 such that FP1 is placed at FCE.
C1
C 2 = ------------------------------------------------------2π ⋅ R 2 ⋅ C 1 ⋅ F CE – 1
VREF
VDIFF
-
RGND
+
VSEN
VOUT
OSCILLATOR
VIN
PWM
CIRCUIT
VOSC
UGATE
HALF-BRIDGE
DRIVE
L
DCR
PHASE
LGATE
ISL8102
C
ESR
EXTERNAL CIRCUIT
FIGURE 22. VOLTAGE-MODE BUCK CONVERTER
COMPENSATION DESIGN
The compensation network consists of the error amplifier
(internal to the ISL8102) and the external R1-R3, C1-C3
components. The goal of the compensation network is to
provide a closed loop transfer function with high 0dB crossing
frequency (F0; typically 0.1 to 0.3 of FSW) and adequate
phase margin (better than 45 degrees). Phase margin is the
difference between the closed loop phase at F0dB and 180°.
The equations that follow relate the compensation network’s
poles, zeros and gain to the components (R1 , R2 , R3 , C1 , C2 ,
and C3) in Figures 20 and 21. Use the following guidelines for
locating the poles and zeros of the compensation network:
1. Select a value for R1 (1kΩ to 5kΩ, typically). Calculate
value for R2 for desired converter bandwidth (F0). If
setting the output voltage to be equal to the reference set
voltage as shown in Figure 22, the design procedure can
be followed as presented. However, when setting the
output voltage via a resistor divider placed at the input of
the differential amplifier (as shown in Figure 6), in order
to compensate for the attenuation introduced by the
resistor divider, the obtained R2 value needs be
multiplied by a factor of (RP1+RS1)/RP1. The remainder
of the calculations remain unchanged, as long as the
compensated R2 value is used.
V OSC ⋅ R 1 ⋅ F 0
R 2 = -------------------------------------------d MAX ⋅ V IN ⋅ F LC
22
4. Calculate R3 such that FZ2 is placed at FLC. Calculate C3
such that FP2 is placed below FSW (typically, 0.5 to 1.0
times FSW). FSW represents the per-channel switching
frequency. Change the numerical factor to reflect desired
placement of this pole. Placement of FP2 lower in frequency
helps reduce the gain of the compensation network at high
frequency, in turn reducing the HF ripple component at the
COMP pin and minimizing resultant duty cycle jitter.
R1
R 3 = --------------------F SW
------------ – 1
F LC
1
C 3 = ------------------------------------------------2π ⋅ R 3 ⋅ 0.7 ⋅ F SW
It is recommended that a mathematical model is used to plot
the loop response. Check the loop gain against the error
amplifier’s open-loop gain. Verify phase margin results and
adjust as necessary. The following equations describe the
frequency response of the modulator (GMOD), feedback
compensation (GFB) and closed-loop response (GCL):
d MAX ⋅ V IN
1 + s ( f ) ⋅ ESR ⋅ C
G MOD ( f ) = ------------------------------ ⋅ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2
V OSC
1 + s ( f ) ⋅ ( ESR + DCR ) ⋅ C + s ( f ) ⋅ L ⋅ C
1 + s ( f ) ⋅ R2 ⋅ C1
G FB ( f ) = ---------------------------------------------------- ⋅
s ( f ) ⋅ R1 ⋅ ( C1 + C2 )
1 + s ( f ) ⋅ ( R1 + R3 ) ⋅ C3
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- C1 ⋅ C2  

( 1 + s ( f ) ⋅ R 3 ⋅ C 3 ) ⋅  1 + s ( f ) ⋅ R 2 ⋅  --------------------- 
 C 1 + C 2 

G CL ( f ) = G MOD ( f ) ⋅ G FB ( f )
where, s ( f ) = 2π ⋅ f ⋅ j
COMPENSATION BREAK FREQUENCY EQUATIONS
1
F Z1 = ------------------------------2π ⋅ R 2 ⋅ C 1
1
F P1 = --------------------------------------------C1 ⋅ C2
2π ⋅ R 2 ⋅ --------------------C1 + C2
1
F Z2 = ------------------------------------------------2π ⋅ ( R 1 + R 3 ) ⋅ C 3
1
F P2 = ------------------------------2π ⋅ R 3 ⋅ C 3
Figure 23 shows an asymptotic plot of the DC/DC converter’s
gain vs. frequency. The actual Modulator Gain has a high gain
peak dependent on the quality factor (Q) of the output filter,
which is not shown. Using the above guidelines should yield a
compensation gain similar to the curve plotted. The open loop
error amplifier gain bounds the compensation gain. Check the
compensation gain at FP2 against the capabilities of the error
FN9247.0
October 19, 2005
ISL8102
amplifier. The closed loop gain, GCL, is constructed on the
log-log graph of Figure 23 by adding the modulator gain,
GMOD (in dB), to the feedback compensation gain, GFB (in
dB). This is equivalent to multiplying the modulator transfer
function and the compensation transfer function and then
plotting the resulting gain.
FP1
FP2
GAIN
FZ1 FZ2
MODULATOR GAIN
COMPENSATION GAIN
CLOSED LOOP GAIN
OPEN LOOP E/A GAIN
initially deviate by an amount approximated by the voltage
drop across the ESL. As the load current increases, the
voltage drop across the ESR increases linearly until the load
current reaches its final value. The capacitors selected must
have sufficiently low ESL and ESR so that the total outputvoltage deviation is less than the allowable maximum.
Neglecting the contribution of inductor current and regulator
response, the output voltage initially deviates by an amount
di
∆V ≈ ( ESL ) ⋅ ----- + ( ESR ) ⋅ ∆I
dt
(EQ. 29)
The filter capacitor must have sufficiently low ESL and ESR
so that ∆V < ∆VMAX.
R2
20 log  --------
 R1
d MAX ⋅ V
IN
20 log --------------------------------V
OSC
0
GFB
LOG
GCL
GMOD
LOG
FLC
FCE
F0
FREQUENCY
FIGURE 23. ASYMPTOTIC BODE PLOT OF CONVERTER GAIN
A stable control loop has a gain crossing with close to a
-20dB/decade slope and a phase margin greater than 45
degrees. Include worst case component variations when
determining phase margin. The mathematical model
presented makes a number of approximations and is
generally not accurate at frequencies approaching or
exceeding half the switching frequency. When designing
compensation networks, select target crossover frequencies
in the range of 10% to 30% of the per-channel switching
frequency, FSW.
Output Filter Design
The output inductors and the output capacitor bank together
to form a low-pass filter responsible for smoothing the
pulsating voltage at the phase nodes. The output filter also
must provide the transient energy until the regulator can
respond. Because it has a low bandwidth compared to the
switching frequency, the output filter limits the system
transient response. The output capacitors must supply or
sink load current while the current in the output inductors
increases or decreases to meet the demand.
In high-speed converters, the output capacitor bank is usually
the most costly (and often the largest) part of the circuit.
Output filter design begins with minimizing the cost of this part
of the circuit. The critical load parameters in choosing the
output capacitors are the maximum size of the load step, ∆I,
the load-current slew rate, di/dt, and the maximum allowable
output-voltage deviation under transient loading, ∆VMAX.
Capacitors are characterized according to their capacitance,
ESR, and ESL (equivalent series inductance).
At the beginning of the load transient, the output capacitors
supply all of the transient current. The output voltage will
23
Most capacitor solutions rely on a mixture of high frequency
capacitors with relatively low capacitance in combination
with bulk capacitors having high capacitance but limited
high-frequency performance. Minimizing the ESL of the
high-frequency capacitors allows them to support the output
voltage as the current increases. Minimizing the ESR of the
bulk capacitors allows them to supply the increased current
with less output voltage deviation.
The ESR of the bulk capacitors also creates the majority of
the output-voltage ripple. As the bulk capacitors sink and
source the inductor ac ripple current (see Interleaving and
Equation 2), a voltage develops across the bulk capacitor
ESR equal to IC,PP (ESR). Thus, once the output capacitors
are selected, the maximum allowable ripple voltage,
VPP(MAX), determines the lower limit on the inductance.
V – N ⋅ V

OUT ⋅ V OUT
 IN
L ≥ ( ESR ) -------------------------------------------------------------------F SW ⋅ V IN ⋅ V PP( MAX )
(EQ. 30)
Since the capacitors are supplying a decreasing portion of
the load current while the regulator recovers from the
transient, the capacitor voltage becomes slightly depleted.
The output inductors must be capable of assuming the entire
load current before the output voltage decreases more than
∆VMAX. This places an upper limit on inductance.
Equation 31 gives the upper limit on L for the cases when
the trailing edge of the current transient causes a greater
output-voltage deviation than the leading edge. Equation 32
addresses the leading edge. Normally, the trailing edge
dictates the selection of L because duty cycles are usually
less than 50%. Nevertheless, both inequalities should be
evaluated, and L should be selected based on the lower of
the two results. In each equation, L is the per-channel
inductance, C is the total output capacitance, and N is the
number of active channels.
2 ⋅ N ⋅ C ⋅ VO
L ≤ --------------------------------- ⋅ ∆V MAX – ( ∆I ⋅ ESR )
( ∆I ) 2
(EQ. 31)
( 1.25 ) ⋅ N ⋅ C
L ≤ ---------------------------------- ⋅ ∆V MAX – ( ∆I ⋅ ESR ) ⋅  V IN – V O


( ∆I ) 2
(EQ. 32)
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ISL8102
There are a number of variables to consider when choosing
the switching frequency, as there are considerable effects on
the upper MOSFET loss calculation. These effects are
outlined in MOSFETs, and they establish the upper limit for
the switching frequency. The lower limit is established by the
requirement for fast transient response and small outputvoltage ripple as outlined in Output Filter Design. Choose the
lowest switching frequency that allows the regulator to meet
the transient-response requirements.
Switching frequency is determined by the selection of the
frequency-setting resistor, RFS. Figure 24 and Equation 33
are provided to assist in selecting the correct value for RFS.
R FS = 10
[10.61 – 1.035 ⋅ log ( F
SW
)]
(EQ. 33)
falling edge voltage spikes. The spikes result from the high
current slew rate produced by the upper MOSFET turn on and
off. Place them as close as possible to each upper MOSFET
drain to minimize board parasitics and maximize suppression.
0.3
INPUT-CAPACITOR CURRENT (IRMS/IO)
Switching Frequency
0.2
0.1
IL,PP = 0
IL,PP = 0.5 IO
IL,PP = 0.75 IO
0
0
0.2
100
50
0.8
1.0
0.6
20
10
0.4
0.6
DUTY CYCLE (VIN/VO)
FIGURE 25. NORMALIZED INPUT-CAPACITOR RMS
CURRENT FOR 2-PHASE CONVERTER
100k
1M
500k
200k
SWITCHING FREQUENCY (Hz)
2M
FIGURE 24. RFS vs SWITCHING FREQUENCY
Input Capacitor Selection
The input capacitors are responsible for sourcing the AC
component of the input current flowing into the upper
MOSFETs. Their RMS current capacity must be sufficient to
handle the ac component of the current drawn by the upper
MOSFETs which is related to duty cycle and the number of
active phases.
For a Two-phase design, use Figure 25 to determine the
input-capacitor RMS current requirement set by the duty
cycle, maximum sustained output current (IO), and the ratio
of the peak-to-peak inductor current (IL,PP) to IO. Select a
bulk capacitor with a ripple current rating which will minimize
the total number of input capacitors required to support the
RMS current calculated. The voltage rating of the capacitors
should also be at least 1.25 times greater than the maximum
input voltage. Figure 26 provides the same input RMS
current information for single-phase designs. Use the same
approach for selecting the bulk capacitor type and number.
Low ESL, high-frequency ceramic capacitors are needed in
addition to the input bulk capacitors to suppress leading and
24
INPUT-CAPACITOR CURRENT (IRMS/IO)
RFS VALUE (kΩ)
200
0.4
0.2
IL,PP = 0
IL,PP = 0.5 IO
IL,PP = 0.75 IO
0
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
DUTY CYCLE (VIN/VO)
0.8
1.0
FIGURE 26. NORMALIZED INPUT-CAPACITOR RMS
CURRENT FOR SINGLE-PHASE CONVERTER
Layout Considerations
MOSFETs switch very fast and efficiently. The speed with
which the current transitions from one device to another
causes voltage spikes across the interconnecting
impedances and parasitic circuit elements. These voltage
spikes can degrade efficiency, radiate noise into the circuit
and lead to device overvoltage stress. Careful component
layout and printed circuit design minimizes the voltage
spikes in the converter. Consider, as an example, the turnoff
transition of the upper PWM MOSFET. Prior to turnoff, the
upper MOSFET was carrying channel current. During the
turnoff, current stops flowing in the upper MOSFET and is
picked up by the lower MOSFET. Any inductance in the
FN9247.0
October 19, 2005
ISL8102
switched current path generates a large voltage spike during
the switching interval. Careful component selection, tight
layout of the critical components, and short, wide circuit
traces minimize the magnitude of voltage spikes.
There are two sets of critical components in a DC/DC
converter using a ISL8102 controller. The powercomponents are the most critical because they switch large
amounts of energy. Next are small signal components that
connect to sensitive nodes or supply critical bypassing
current and signal coupling.
It is important to have a symmetrical layout, preferably with
the controller equidistantly located from the two power trains it
controls. Equally important are the gate drive lines (UGATE,
LGATE, PHASE): since they drive the power train MOSFETs
using short, high current pulses, it is important to size them as
large and as short as possible to reduce their overall
impedance and inductance. Extra care should be given to the
LGATE traces in particular since keeping the impedance and
inductance of these traces helps to significantly reduce the
possibility of shoot-through. Equidistant placement of the
controller to the two power trains also helps keeping these
traces equally short (equal impedances, resulting in similar
driving of both sets of MOSFETs).
The power components should be placed first. Locate the input
capacitors close to the power switches. Minimize the length of
the connections between the input capacitors, CIN, and the
power switches. Locate the output inductors and output
capacitors between the MOSFETs and the load. Locate the
high-frequency decoupling capacitors (ceramic) as close as
practicable to the decoupling target, making use of the shortest
connection paths to any internal planes, such as vias to GND
immediately next, or even onto the capacitor solder pad.
25
The critical small components include the bypass capacitors
for VCC and PVCC. Locate the bypass capacitors, CBP,
close to the device. It is especially important to locate the
components associated with the feedback circuit close to
their respective controller pins, since they belong to a highimpedance circuit loop, sensitive to EMI pick-up. It is also
important to place current sense components close to their
respective pins on the ISL8102, including the RISEN
resistors, RS, RCOMP, CCOMP. For proper current sharing
route two separate symmetrical as possible traces from the
corresponding phase node for each RISEN.
A multi-layer printed circuit board is recommended. Figure 27
shows the connections of the critical components for the
converter. Note that capacitors CxxIN and CxxOUT could each
represent numerous physical capacitors. Dedicate one solid
layer, usually the one underneath the component side of the
board, for a ground plane and make all critical component
ground connections with vias to this layer. Dedicate another
solid layer as a power plane and break this plane into smaller
islands of common voltage levels. Keep the metal runs from
the PHASE terminal to inductor LOUT short. The power plane
should support the input power and output power nodes. Use
copper filled polygons on the top and bottom circuit layers for
the phase nodes. Use the remaining printed circuit layers for
small signal wiring. The wiring traces from the IC to the
MOSFETs’ gates and sources should be sized to carry at least
one ampere of current (0.02” to 0.05”).
FN9247.0
October 19, 2005
ISL8102
LOCATE CLOSE TO IC
(MINIMIZE CONNECTION PATH)
R1
KEY
HEAVY TRACE ON CIRCUIT PLANE LAYER
C2
ISLAND ON POWER PLANE LAYER
C1
VDIFF
+12V
R2
FB
ISLAND ON CIRCUIT PLANE LAYER
CHF01
COMP
VIA CONNECTION TO GROUND PLANE
PVCC
CHF1
CBIN1
BOOT1
LOCATE NEAR SWITCHING TRANSISTORS;
(MINIMIZE CONNECTION PATH)
CBOOT1
VSEN
UGATE1
RGND
PHASE1
+5V
LOUT1
2PH
CHF0
ISEN1
VCC
RISEN1
LGATE1
ROFST
OFST
FS
RFS
DAC
ISL8102
RREF
REF
CBOUT
CREF
(CHFOUT)
LOAD
REF1
REF0
+12V
to PVCC
OVP
PGOOD
CBIN2
LOCATE NEAR LOAD;
(MINIMIZE CONNECTION PATH)
CHF2
+12V
BOOT2
GND
CBOOT2
UGATE2
PHASE2
ENLL
LOUT2
ISEN2
IREF
RISEN2
DROOP
LGATE2
OCSET ICOMP
ISUM
RS
RCOMP
ROCSET
RS
CCOMP
CSUM
FIGURE 27. PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD POWER PLANES AND ISLANDS
26
FN9247.0
October 19, 2005
ISL8102
Quad Flat No-Lead Plastic Package (QFN)
Micro Lead Frame Plastic Package (MLFP)
L32.5x5
32LEAD QUAD FLAT NO-LEAD PLASTIC PACKAGE
(COMPLIANT TO JEDEC MO-220VHHD-2 ISSUE C)
MILLIMETERS
SYMBOL
MIN
NOMINAL
MAX
NOTES
A
0.80
0.90
1.00
-
A1
-
-
0.05
-
A2
-
-
1.00
A3
b
0.18
D
0.23
9
0.30
5, 8
5.00 BSC
D1
D2
9
0.20 REF
-
4.75 BSC
2.95
3.10
9
3.25
7, 8
E
5.00 BSC
-
E1
4.75 BSC
9
E2
2.95
e
3.10
3.25
7, 8
0.50 BSC
-
k
0.25
-
-
-
L
0.30
0.40
0.50
8
L1
-
-
0.15
10
N
32
2
Nd
8
3
Ne
8
3
P
-
-
0.60
9
θ
-
-
12
9
Rev. 1 10/02
NOTES:
1. Dimensioning and tolerancing conform to ASME Y14.5-1994.
2. N is the number of terminals.
3. Nd and Ne refer to the number of terminals on each D and E.
4. All dimensions are in millimeters. Angles are in degrees.
5. Dimension b applies to the metallized terminal and is measured
between 0.15mm and 0.30mm from the terminal tip.
6. The configuration of the pin #1 identifier is optional, but must be
located within the zone indicated. The pin #1 identifier may be
either a mold or mark feature.
7. Dimensions D2 and E2 are for the exposed pads which provide
improved electrical and thermal performance.
8. Nominal dimensions are provided to assist with PCB Land Pattern
Design efforts, see Intersil Technical Brief TB389.
9. Features and dimensions A2, A3, D1, E1, P & θ are present when
Anvil singulation method is used and not present for saw
singulation.
10. Depending on the method of lead termination at the edge of the
package, a maximum 0.15mm pull back (L1) maybe present. L
minus L1 to be equal to or greater than 0.3mm.
All Intersil U.S. products are manufactured, assembled and tested utilizing ISO9000 quality systems.
Intersil Corporation’s quality certifications can be viewed at www.intersil.com/design/quality
Intersil products are sold by description only. Intersil Corporation reserves the right to make changes in circuit design, software and/or specifications at any time without
notice. Accordingly, the reader is cautioned to verify that data sheets are current before placing orders. Information furnished by Intersil is believed to be accurate and
reliable. However, no responsibility is assumed by Intersil or its subsidiaries for its use; nor for any infringements of patents or other rights of third parties which may result
from its use. No license is granted by implication or otherwise under any patent or patent rights of Intersil or its subsidiaries.
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27
FN9247.0
October 19, 2005