The TPS74401 features a programmable, monotonic, voltage-controlled soft-start that is set with an external capacitor (C_SS). This feature is important for many applications to eliminate power-up initialization problems when powering FPGAs, DSPs, or other processors. The controlled voltage ramp of the output also reduces peak inrush current during start-up, minimizing start-up transients to the input power bus.

To achieve a linear and monotonic soft-start, the TPS74401 error amplifier tracks the voltage ramp of the external soft-start capacitor until the voltage exceeds the internal reference. The soft-start ramp time depends on the soft-start charging current (I_SS), the soft-start capacitance (C_SS), and the internal reference voltage (V_REF), and can be calculated using Equation 1:

If large output capacitors are used, the device current limit (I_CL) and the output capacitor can set the start-up time. In this case, the start-up time is given by Equation 2:

where

• V_OUT(nom) is the nominal set output voltage as set by the user,
• C_OUT is the output capacitance,
• and I_CL(min) is the minimum current limit for the device.

In applications where monotonic start-up is required, the soft-start time given by Equation 1 must be set to be greater than Equation 2.

The maximum recommended soft-start capacitor is 0.015μF. Larger soft-start capacitors can be used and do not damage the device; however, the soft-start capacitor discharge circuit can not be able to fully discharge the soft-start capacitor when re-enabled. Soft-start capacitors larger than 0.015μF can be a problem in applications where the user must rapidly pulse the enable pin and also require the device to soft-start from ground. C_SS must be low-leakage; X7R, X5R, or C0G dielectric materials are preferred. Table 6-2 lists suggested soft-start capacitor values.