Filter Capacitor Selection
(Continued)
parable to ceramics) and good temperature stability (compa-
rable to tantalums). The Aluminum Polymer Electrolytics
offered by Cornell-Dubilier and Panasonic, and the POS-
CAPs offered by Sanyo fall under this category.
Table 1 compares the features of the three capacitor tech-
nologies.
TABLE 1. Comparison of Capacitor Technologies
Ceramic
Tantalum
Polymer
Electrolytic
Low
Low
ESR
Relative Height
Lowest
Low for Small Values (
<
10 μF); Taller for
Higher Values
Large
X7R/X5R-Acceptable
Good
Low
Low
Lowest
High
Lowest
Relative Footprint
Temperature Stability
Frequency Stability
V
OUT
Ripple Magnitude
@
<
50 mA
V
OUT
Ripple Magnitude
@
>
100 mA
dv/dt of V
OUT
Ripple
@
All Loads
Small
Good
Acceptable
High
Slightly Higher
High
Largest
Good
Good
Low
Low
Low
b) CAPACITOR SELECTION
i) Output Capacitor (C
OUT
)
The output capacitor C
OUT
directly affects the magnitude of
the output ripple voltage so C
OUT
should be carefully se-
lected. The graphs titled V
OUT
Ripple vs. C
OUT
in the Typical
Performance Characteristics section show how the ripple
voltage magnitude is affected by the C
value and the
capacitor technology. These graphs are taken at the gain at
which worst case ripple is observed. In general, the higher
the value of C
, the lower the output ripple magnitude. At
lighter loads, the low ESR ceramics offer a much lower V
ripple than the higher ESR tantalums of the same value. At
higher loads, the ceramics offer a slightly lower V
ripple
magnitude than the tantalums of the same value. However,
the dv/dt of the V
ripple with the ceramics and polymer
electrolytics is much lower than the tantalums under all load
conditions. The tantalums are suggested for very low profile,
small size applications. The ceramics and polymer electro-
lytics are a good choice for low ripple, low noise applications
where size is less of a concern.
ii) Input Capacitor (C
IN
)
The input capacitor C
directly affects the magnitude of the
input ripple voltage, and to a lesser degree the V
ripple.
A higher value C
IN
will give a lower V
IN
ripple. To optimize
low input and output ripple as well as size a 10 μF polymer
electrolytic or ceramic, or 15 μF tantalum capacitor is rec-
ommended. This will ensure low input ripple at 90 mA load
current. If lower currents will be used or higher input ripple
can be tolerated then a smaller capacitor may be used to
reduce the overall size of the circuit. The lower ESR ceram-
ics and polymer electrolytics achieve a lower V
IN
ripple than
the higher ESR tantalums of the same value. Tantalums
make a good choice for small size, very low profile applica-
tions. The ceramics and polymer electrolytics are a good
choice for low ripple, low noise applications where size is
less of a concern. The 10 μF polymer electrolytics are physi-
cally much larger than the 15 μF tantalums and 10 μF
ceramics.
iii) C
FIL
A 1 μF, X7R ceramic capacitor should be connected to pin
C
. This capacitor provides the filtering needed for the
internal supply rail of the LM3354.
Of the different capacitor technologies, a sample of vendors
that have been verified as suitable for use with the LM3354
are shown in Table 2
TABLE 2. Capacitor Vendor Information
Manufacturer
Taiyo-yuden
AVX
Sprague/Vishay
Tel
Fax
Website
Ceramic
(408) 573-4150
(803) 448-9411
(207) 324-4140
(408) 573-4159
(803) 448-1943
(207) 324-7223
www.t-yuden.com
www.avxcorp.com
www.vishay.com
Tantalum
Nichicon
Cornell-Dubilier (ESRD)
Sanyo (POSCAP)
(847) 843-7500
(508) 996-8561
(619) 661-6322
(847) 843-2798
(508) 996-3830
(619) 661-1055
www.nichicon.com
www.cornell-dubilier.com
www.sanyovideo.com
Polymer Electrolytic
L
www.national.com
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