Because the selection of inductor affects power supply’s steady-state operation, transient behavior, loop stability and the boost converter efficiency, the inductor is one of the most important components in switching power regulator design. There are three specifications most important to the performance of the inductor: inductor value, DC resistance, and saturation current. The TPS61162A, TPS61163A are designed to work with inductor values from 4.7µH to 10µH to support all applications. A 4.7µH inductor is typically available in a smaller or lower profile package, while a 10µH inductor produces lower inductor ripple. If the boost output current is limited by the overcurrent protection of the device, using a 10µH inductor may maximize the controller’s output current capability. A 22µH inductor can also be used for some applications, such as 6s2p and 7s2p, but may cause stability issue when more than eight WLED diodes are connected per string. Therefore, customers need to verify the inductor in their application if it is different from the values in Section 5.3.

Inductor values can have ±20% or even ±30% tolerance with no current bias. When the inductor current approaches saturation level, its inductance can decrease 20% to 35% from the 0A value depending on how the inductor vendor defines saturation. When selecting an inductor, please make sure its rated current, especially the saturation current, is larger than its peak current during the operation.

Follow Equation 4 to Equation 6 to calculate the inductor’s peak current. To calculate the current in the worst case, use the minimum input voltage, maximum output voltage and maximum load current of the application. In order to leave enough design margin, the minimum switching frequency (1 MHz for TPS61162A, TPS61163A), the inductor value with –30% tolerance, and a low power conversion efficiency, such as 80% or lower are recommended for the calculation.

In a boost regulator, the inductor DC current can be calculated as Equation 4.

Equation 4.

where

• V_OUT = boost output voltage
• I_OUT = boost output current
• V_IN = boost input voltage
• η = boost power conversion efficiency

The inductor current peak-to-peak ripple can be calculated as Equation 5.

Equation 5.

where

• I_PP = inductor peak-to-peak ripple
• L = inductor value
• F_S = boost switching frequency
• V_OUT = boost output voltage
• V_IN = boost input voltage

Therefore, the peak current I_P seen by the inductor is calculated with Equation 6.

Equation 6.

Select an inductor with saturation current over the calculated peak current. If the calculated peak current is larger than the switch MOSFET current limit I_LIM, use a larger inductor, such as 10µH, and make sure its peak current is below I_LIM.

Boost converter efficiency is dependent on the resistance of its current path, the switching losses associated with the switch MOSFET and power diode, and the inductor’s core loss. The TPS61162A, TPS61163A has optimized the internal switch resistance; however, the overall efficiency is affected a lot by the inductor’s DC Resistance (DCR), Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR) at the switching frequency, and the core loss. Core loss is related to the core material and different inductors have different core loss. For a certain inductor, larger current ripple generates higher DCR/ESR conduction losses as well as higher core loss. Normally a datasheet of an inductor does not provide the ESR and core loss information. If needed, consult the inductor vendor for detailed information. Generally, an inductor with lower DCR/ESR is recommended for TPS61162A, TPS61163A applications. However, there is a trade-off among an inductor’s inductance, DCR/ESR resistance, and its footprint; furthermore, shielded inductors typically have higher DCR than unshielded ones. Table 7-2 lists some recommended inductors for the TPS61162A and TPS61163A. Verify whether the recommended inductor can support target application by the calculations above as well as bench validation.