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MIC5020
Functional Description
Refer to the MIC5020 block diagram.
Input
A signal greater than 1.4V (nominal) applied to the MIC5020
INPUT
causes gate enhancement on an external MOSFET
turning the external MOSFET on.
An internal pull-down resistor insures that an open
INPUT
remains low, keeping the external MOSFET turned off.
Gate Output
Rapid rise and fall times on the
GATE
output are possible
because each input state change triggers a one-shot which
activates a high-value current sink (10I
2
) for a short time. This
draws a high current through a current mirror circuit causing
the output transistors to quickly charge or discharge the
external MOSFET’s gate.
A second current sink continuously draws the lower value of
current used to maintain the gate voltage for the selected
state.
An internal 15V Zener diode protects the external MOSFET
by limiting the gate output voltage when V
DD
is connected to
higher voltages.
Overcurrent Limiting
Current source I
1
charges C
INT
upon power up. An optional
external capacitor connected to C
T
is discharged through
Micrel
5-166
October 1998
source side sensing is provided by access to both
SENSE
+
and
SENSE
– comparator inputs.
The adjustable retry feature can be used to handle loads with
high initial currents, such as lamps, motors, or heating
elements and can be adjusted from the C
T
connection.
C
T
to ground causes maintained gate drive shutdown follow-
ing overcurrent detection.
C
T
open, or through a capacitor to ground, causes automatic
retry . The default duty cycle (C
T
open) is approximately 20%.
Refer to the electrical characteristics when selecting a ca-
pacitor for a reduced duty cycle.
C
T
through a pull-up resistor to V
DD
increases the duty cycle.
Increasing the duty cycle increases the power dissipation in
the load and MOSFET. Circuits may become unstable at a
duty cycles of about 75% or higher, depending on the
conditions. Caution: The MIC5020 may be damaged if the
voltage on C
T
exceeds the absolute maximum rating.
An overcurrent condition is externally signaled by an open
collector (
FAULT
) output.
The MIC5020 may be used without current sensing by
connecting
SENSE
+ and
SENSE
– to ground.
Current Sense Resistors
Lead length can be significant when using low value (< 1
)
resistors for current sensing. Errors caused by lead length
can be avoided by using four-terminal current sensing resis-
tors. Four-terminal resistors are available from several
manufacturers.
Applications Information
The MIC5020 MOSFET driver is intended for low-side switch-
ing applications where higher supply voltage, overcurrent
sensing, and moderate speed are required.
Supply Voltage
A feature of the MIC5020 is that its supply voltage rating of up
to 50V is higher than many other low-side drivers.
The minimum supply voltage required to fully enhance an N-
channel MOSFET is 11V.
A lower supply voltage may be used with logic level MOSFETs.
Approximately 6V is needed to provide 5V of gate enhance-
ment.
Low-Side Switch Circuit Advantages
A moderate-speed low-side driver is generally much faster
than a comparable high-side driver. The MIC5020 can
provide the gate drive switching times and low propagation
delay times that are necessary for high-frequency high-
efficiency circuit operation in PWM (pulse width modulation)
designs used for motor control, SMPS (switch mode power
supply) and heating element control. Switched loads (on/off)
can benefit from the MIC5020’s fast switching times by
allowing use of MOSFETs with smaller safe operating areas.
(Larger MOSFETs are often required when using slower
drivers.)
Overcurrent Limiting
A 50mV comparator is provided for current sensing. The low
level trip point minimizes I
2
R losses when power resistors are
used for current sensing. Flexibility in choosing drain or
MOSFET Q1.
A fault condition (> 50mV from
SENSE
+ to
SENSE
–) causes
the overcurrent comparator to enable current sink 2I
1
which
overcomes current source I
1
to discharge C
INT
in a short time.
When C
INT
is discharged, the
INPUT
is disabled, which turns
off the
GATE
output; the
FAULT
output is enabled; and C
INT
and C
T
are ready to be charged.
When the
GATE
output turns the MOSFET off, the overcurrent
signal is removed from the sense inputs which deactivates
current sink 2I
1
. This allows C
INT
and the optional capacitor
connected to C
T
to recharge. A Schmitt trigger delays the
retry while the capacitor(s) recharge. Retry delay is in-
creased by connecting a capacitor to C
T
(optional).
The retry cycle will continue until the the fault is removed or
the input is changed to TTL low.
If C
T
is connected to ground, the circuit will not retry upon a
fault condition.
Fault Output
The
FAULT
output is an open collector transistor.
FAULT
is
active at approximately the same time the output is disabled
by a fault condition (5
μ
s after an overcurrent condition is
sensed). The
FAULT
output is open circuit (off) during each
successive retry (5
μ
s).