SLVAE30E February 2021 – March 2021 TPS1H000-Q1 , TPS1H100-Q1 , TPS1H200A-Q1 , TPS1HA08-Q1 , TPS25200-Q1 , TPS27S100 , TPS2H000-Q1 , TPS2H160-Q1 , TPS2HB16-Q1 , TPS2HB35-Q1 , TPS2HB50-Q1 , TPS4H000-Q1 , TPS4H160-Q1
Another unique feature of TI's Smart High Side Switches is the adjustable current limit. This feature is especially relevant in heat applications where allowing large amount of currents even for short amount of times is not only damaging to the system but also the end user. Most of the time in resistive load applications the enable pin is PWMed only allowing a portion of the total current to the load. This means that even the nominal amount of current that a high side switch can handle could be a fault case and potentially damage the system or the end user.
Competition high side switches typically have a fixed current limit that is often very high relative to the nominal operating current. This means that the switch will not shut off until it reaches the current level set abnormally high or thermally shuts off. In the heater example above there could theoretically be a small resistive short that draws double the PWM current.