SNVSA46B June 2014 – January 2018 LM46001
PRODUCTION DATA.
The following operating description of the LM46001 refers to the Functional Block Diagram and to the waveforms in Figure 33. The LM46001 is a step-down buck regulator with both high-side (HS) switch and low-side (LS) switch (synchronous rectifier) integrated. The LM46001 supplies a regulated output voltage by turning on the HS and LS NMOS switches with controlled ON-time. During the HS switch ON-time, the SW pin voltage VSW swings up to approximately VIN, and the inductor current IL increases with a linear slope (VIN – VOUT) / L. When the HS switch is turned off by the control logic, the LS switch is turned on after a anti-shoot-through dead time. Inductor current discharges through the LS switch with a slope of –VOUT / L. The control parameter of buck converters are defined as duty cycle D = tON / TSW, where tON is the HS switch ON-time and TSW is the switching period. The regulator control loop maintains a constant output voltage by adjusting the duty cycle D. In an ideal buck converter, where losses are ignored, D is proportional to the output voltage and inversely proportional to the input voltage: D = VOUT / VIN.
The LM46001 synchronous buck converter employs peak-current-mode control topology. A voltage feedback loop is used to get accurate DC voltage regulation by adjusting the peak current command based on voltage offset. The peak inductor current is sensed from the HS switch and compared to the peak current to control the ON-time of the HS switch. The voltage feedback loop is internally compensated, which allows for fewer external components, makes it easy to design, and provides stable operation with almost any combination of output capacitors. The regulator operates with fixed switching frequency in continuous conduction mode (CCM) and discontinuous conduction mode (DCM). At very light load, the LM46001 operates in PFM to maintain high efficiency, and the switching frequency decreases with reduced load current.