Synchronous buck controller offers wide input voltage and duty cycle ranges

The LM5145 75V synchronous buck controller from Texas Instruments is designed to regulate from a high input voltage source or from an input rail subject to high voltage transients, minimizing the need for external surge suppression components. A high-side switch minimum on-time of 40ns facilitates large step-down ratios, enabling the direct step-down conversion from a 48V nominal input to low-voltage rails for reduced system complexity and solution cost. The device continues to operate during input voltage dips as low as 6V, at nearly 100% duty cycle if needed, making it well suited for high-performance industrial control, robotic, datacom, and RF power amplifier applications. Forced-PWM operation eliminates frequency variation to minimize EMI, while a user-selectable diode emulation feature lowers current consumption at light-load conditions. Cycle-by-cycle overcurrent protection is accomplished by measuring the voltage drop across the low-side MOSFET or by using an optional current sense resistor. The adjustable switching frequency as high as 1 MHz can be synchronized to an external clock source to eliminate beat frequencies in noise-sensitive applications. The voltage-mode controller drives external high-side and low-side N-channel power switches with robust 7.5V gate drivers suitable for standard-threshold MOSFETs. Adaptively-timed gate drivers with 2.3A source and 3.5A sink capability minimize body diode conduction during switching transitions, reducing switching losses and improving thermal performance when driving MOSFETs at high input voltage and high frequency. The device can be powered from the output of the switching regulator or another available source, further improving efficiency. The controller is offered in a 3.5mm × 4.5mm thermally-enhanced, 20-pin VQFN package with additional spacing for high-voltage pins and wettable flanks for optical inspection of solder joint fillets.