The LV3842 is in Active Mode when both VEN and VIN are above their respective operating threshold. The simplest way to enable the LV3842 is to connect the EN pin to VIN pin. This allows self-startup when the input voltage is in the operating range: 4.0 V to 36 V. Please refer to Section 8.3.3 section for details on setting these operating levels.
In Active Mode, depending on the load current, the LV3842 will be in one of four modes:
- Continuous conduction mode (CCM) with fixed switching frequency when load current is above half of the peak-to-peak inductor current ripple (for both PFM and FPWM versions).
- Discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) with fixed switching frequency when load current is lower than half of the peak-to-peak inductor current ripple in CCM operation (only for PFM version).
- Pulse frequency modulation mode (PFM) when switching frequency is decreased at very light load (only for PFM version).
- Forced pulse width modulation mode (FPWM) with fixed switching frequency even at light load (only for FPWM version).