Application Hints
(Continued)
the switching threshold voltage of the comparator directly
controls the maximum V
allowed across the MOSFET
while conducting load current.
The threshold voltage is set by the voltage drop across
resistor R
. A reference current is fixed by a resis-
tor to ground at I
, pin 6. To precisely regulate the refer-
ence current over temperature, a stable band gap reference
voltage is provided to bias a constant current sink. The
reference current is set by:
The reference current sink output is internally connected to
the threshold pin. I
REF
then flows from the load supply
through R
THRESHOLD
R
of V
across the MOSFET before the protection compara-
tor trips.
It is important to note that the programmed reference current
serves a multiple purpose as it is used internally for biasing
and also has a direct effect on the internal charge pump
switching frequency. The design of the LM9061 is optimized
for a reference current of approximately 80 μA, set with a
15.4 k
±
1% resistor for R
REF
. To obtain the guaranteed
performance characteristics it is recommended that a
15.4 k
resistor be used for R
REF
.
The protection comparator is configured such that during
normal operation, when the output of the comparator is low,
the differential input stage of the comparator is switched in a
manner that there is virtually no current flowing into the
non-inverting input of the comparator. Therefore, only I
flows through resistor R
. All of the input bias
current, 20 μA maximum, for the comparator input stage
(twice the I
specification of 10 μA maximum, defined
for equal potentials on each of the comparator inputs) how-
ever flows into the inverting input through resistor R
SENSE
.At
the comparator threshold, the current through R
SENSE
no more than the I
SENSE
specification of 10 μA.
To tailor the V
DS (MAX)
threshold for any particular applica-
tion, the resistor R
THRESHOLD
can be selected per the follow-
ing formula:
where R
= 15.4 k
, I
SENSE
is the input bias current to the
protection comparator, R
is the resistor connected to
pin 1 and V
is the offset voltage of the protection com-
parator (typically in the range of
±
10 mV).
The resistor R
is optional, but is strongly recom-
mended to provide transient protection for the Sense pin,
especially when driving inductive type loads. A minimum
value of 1 k
will protect the pin from transients ranging from
25V to +60V. This resistor should be equal to, or less than,
the resistor used for R
THRESHOLD
. Never set R
SENSE
to a
value larger than R
THRESHOLD
. When the protection com-
parator output goes high , the total bias current for the input
stage transfers from the Sense pin to the Threshold pin,
thereby changing the voltages present at the inputs to the
comparator. For consistent switching of the comparator right
at the desired threshold point, the voltage drop that occurs at
the non-inverting input (Threshold) should equal, or exceed,
the rise in voltage at the inverting input (Sense).
In automotive applications the load supply may be the bat-
tery of the vehicle whereas the V
supply for the LM9061 is
a switched ignition supply. When the V
supply is switched
OFF there is always a concern for the amount of current
drained from the battery. The only current drain under this
condition is a leakage current into the Threshold pin which is
less than 10 μA.
01231711
FIGURE 3. Protection Comparator Biasing
L
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