SNOSBT0L February 2000 – September 2016 LM340
PRODUCTION DATA.
When using large capacitors at the output of these regulators, a protection diode connected input to output (Figure 15) may be required if the input is shorted to ground. Without the protection diode, an input short causes the input to rapidly approach ground potential, while the output remains near the initial VOUT because of the stored charge in the large output capacitor. The capacitor will then discharge through a large internal input to output diode and parasitic transistors. If the energy released by the capacitor is large enough, this diode, low current metal, and the regulator are destroyed. The fast diode in Figure 15 shunts most of the capacitors discharge current around the regulator. Generally no protection diode is required for values of output capacitance ≤ 10 μF.