SNVS085X July 2000 – December 2017 LM3478
PRODUCTION DATA.
Proper selection of inductors L1 and L2 to maintain continuous current conduction mode requires calculations of the following parameters.
Average current in the inductors can be calculated using Equation 39.
Peak to peak ripple current, to calculate core loss if necessary using Equation 41 and Equation 42.
Maintaining the condition IL > ΔiL/2 to ensure continuous current conduction yields Equation 43 and Equation 44.
Peak current in the inductor, use Equation 45 and Equation 46 to ensure the inductor does not saturate.
IL1PK must be lower than the maximum current rating set by the current sense resistor.
The value of L1 can be increased above the minimum recommended to reduce input ripple and output ripple. However, once DIL1 is less than 20% of IL1AVE, the benefit to output ripple is minimal.
By increasing the value of L2 above the minimum recommended, ΔIL2 can be reduced, which in turn will reduce the output ripple voltage:
where ESR is the effective series resistance of the output capacitor.
If L1 and L2 are wound on the same core, then L1 = L2 = L. All of the previous equations will hold true if the inductance is replaced by 2L.