l TEXAS
INSTRUMENTS
SW
6
C6(nF) Vref 1.1 C6(nF) 0.765 1.1
Tss(ms) = =
Iss( A)
´ ´ ´ ´
m
( )
IN OUT OUT
OUT(LL)
SW IN
V V V
1
I = 2 L V
- ´
´
´ ´ f
9
TPS54428
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SLVSB42D –NOVEMBER 2011–REVISED JANUARY 2016
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Feature Description (continued)
7.3.2 PWM Frequency and Adaptive On-Time Control
TPS54428 uses an adaptive on-time control scheme and does not have a dedicated on board oscillator. The
TPS54428 runs with a pseudo-constant frequency of 650 kHz by using the input voltage and output voltage to
set the on-time one-shot timer. The on-time is inversely proportional to the input voltage and proportional to the
output voltage, therefore, when the duty ratio is VOUT/VIN, the frequency is constant.
7.3.3 Auto-Skip Eco-Mode™ Control
The TPS54428 is designed with Auto-Skip Eco-mode™ to increase light load efficiency. As the output current
decreases from heavy load condition, the inductor current is also reduced and eventually comes to point that its
rippled valley touches zero level, which is the boundary between continuous conduction and discontinuous
conduction modes. The rectifying MOSFET is turned off when its zero inductor current is detected. As the load
current further decreases the converter run into discontinuous conduction mode. The on-time is kept almost the
same as is was in the continuous conduction mode so that it takes longer time to discharge the output capacitor
with smaller load current to the level of the reference voltage. The transition point to the light load operation
IOUT(LL) current can be calculated in Equation 1.
(1)
7.4 Device Functional Modes
7.4.1 Soft Start and Pre-Biased Soft Start
The soft start function is adjustable. When the EN pin becomes high, 6-µA current begins charging the capacitor
which is connected from the SS pin to GND. Smooth control of the output voltage is maintained during start up.
The equation for the slow start time is shown in Equation 2. VFB voltage is 0.765 V and SS pin source current is
6-uA.
(2)
The TPS54428 contains a unique circuit to prevent current from being pulled from the output during startup if the
output is pre-biased. When the soft-start commands a voltage higher than the pre-bias level (internal soft start
becomes greater than feedback voltage VFB), the controller slowly activates synchronous rectification by starting
the first low side FET gate driver pulses with a narrow on-time. It then increments that on-time on a cycle-by-
cycle basis until it coincides with the time dictated by (1-D), where D is the duty cycle of the converter. This
scheme prevents the initial sinking of the pre-bias output, and ensure that the out voltage (VO) starts and ramps
up smoothly into regulation and the control loop is given time to transition from pre-biased start-up to normal
mode operation.
7.4.2 Current Protection
The output over-current protection (OCP) is implemented using a cycle-by-cycle valley detect control circuit. The
switch current is monitored by measuring the low-side FET switch voltage between the SW pin and GND. This
voltage is proportional to the switch current. To improve accuracy, the voltage sensing is temperature
compensated.
During the on time of the high-side FET switch, the switch current increases at a linear rate determined by Vin,
Vout, the on-time and the output inductor value. During the on time of the low-side FET switch, this current
decreases linearly. The average value of the switch current is the load current Iout. The TPS54428 constantly
monitors the low-side FET switch voltage, which is proportional to the switch current, during the low-side on-time.
If the measured voltage is above the voltage proportional to the current limit, an internal counter is incremented
per each SW cycle and the converter maintains the low-side switch on until the measured voltage is below the
voltage corresponding to the current limit at which time the switching cycle is terminated and a new switching
cycle begins. In subsequent switching cycles, the on-time is set to a fixed value and the current is monitored in
the same manner. If the over current condition exists for 7 consecutive switching cycles, the internal OCL
threshold is set to a lower level, reducing the available output current. When a switching cycle occurs where the
switch current is not above the lower OCL threshold, the counter is reset and the OCL limit is returned to the
higher value.