LP2985AIM5-3.3 National Semiconductor, LP2985AIM5-3.3 Datasheet - Page 15

• Manufacturer Part Number: LP2985AIM5-3.3
• Description: V REG LDO +3.3V, SMD, 2985, SOT235
• Manufacturer: National Semiconductor

Specifications of LP2985AIM5-3.3

• Primary Input Voltage: 4.3V
• Output Voltage: 3.3V
• Dropout Voltage Vdo: 280mV
• No. Of Pins: 5
• Output Current: 150mA
• Voltage Regulator Case Style: SOT-23
• Operating Temperature Range: -40°C To +125°C
• Output Voltage Fixed: 3.3V
• Rohs Compliant: Yes
• Lead Free Status / RoHS Status: Lead free / RoHS Compliant

Application Hints
EXTERNAL CAPACITORS
Like any low-dropout regulator, the LP2985 requires external
capacitors for regulator stability. These capacitors must be
correctly selected for good performance.
Input Capacitor
An input capacitor whose capacitance is ≥ 1 µF is required
between the LP2985 input and ground (the amount of ca-
pacitance may be increased without limit).
This capacitor must be located a distance of not more than 1
cm from the input pin and returned to a clean analog ground.
Any good quality ceramic, tantalum, or film capacitor may be
used at the input.
Important: Tantalum capacitors can suffer catastrophic fail-
ure due to surge current when connected to a low-
impedance source of power (like a battery or very large
capacitor). If a Tantalum capacitor is used at the input, it
must be guaranteed by the manufacturer to have a surge
current rating sufficient for the application.
There are no requirements for ESR on the input capacitor,
but tolerance and temperature coefficient must be consid-
ered when selecting the capacitor to ensure the capacitance
will be ≥ 1 µF over the entire operating temperature range.
Output Capacitor
The LP2985 is designed specifically to work with ceramic
output capacitors, utilizing circuitry which allows the regula-
tor to be stable across the entire range of output current with
an output capacitor whose ESR is as low as 5 mΩ. It may
also be possible to use Tantalum or film capacitors at the
output, but these are not as attractive for reasons of size and
cost (see next section Capacitor Characteristics).
The output capacitor must meet the requirement for mini-
mum amount of capacitance and also have an ESR (equiva-
lent series resistance) value which is within the stable range.
Curves are provided which show the stable ESR range as a
function of load current (see ESR graph below).
Important: The output capacitor must maintain its ESR
within the stable region over the full operating temperature
range of the application to assure stability.
The LP2985 requires a minimum of 2.2 µF on the output
(output capacitor size can be increased without limit).
It is important to remember that capacitor tolerance and
variation with temperature must be taken into consideration
when selecting an output capacitor so that the minimum
required amount of output capacitance is provided over the
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full operating temperature range. It should be noted that
ceramic capacitors can exhibit large changes in capacitance
with temperature (see next section, Capacitor Characteris-
tics).
The output capacitor must be located not more than 1 cm
from the output pin and returned to a clean analog ground.
Noise Bypass Capacitor
Connecting a 10 nF capacitor to the Bypass pin significantly
reduces noise on the regulator output. It should be noted that
the capacitor is connected directly to a high-impedance cir-
cuit in the bandgap reference.
Because this circuit has only a few microamperes flowing in
it, any significant loading on this node will cause a change in
the regulated output voltage. For this reason, DC leakage
current through the noise bypass capacitor must never ex-
ceed 100 nA, and should be kept as low as possible for best
output voltage accuracy.
The types of capacitors best suited for the noise bypass
capacitor are ceramic and film. High-quality ceramic capaci-
tors with either NPO or COG dielectric typically have very
low leakage. 10 nF polypropolene and polycarbonate film
capacitors are available in small surface-mount packages
and typically have extremely low leakage current.
CAPACITOR CHARACTERISTICS
The LP2985 was designed to work with ceramic capacitors
on the output to take advantage of the benefits they offer: for
capacitance values in the 2.2 µF to 4.7 µF range, ceramics
are the least expensive and also have the lowest ESR
values (which makes them best for eliminating high-
frequency noise). The ESR of a typical 2.2 µF ceramic
capacitor is in the range of 10 mΩ to 20 mΩ, which easily
meets the ESR limits required for stability by the LP2985.
One disadvantage of ceramic capacitors is that their capaci-
tance can vary with temperature. Most large value ceramic
capacitors (≥ 2.2 µF) are manufactured with the Z5U or Y5V
temperature characteristic, which results in the capacitance
dropping by more than 50% as the temperature goes from
25˚C to 85˚C.
This could cause problems if a 2.2 µF capacitor were used
on the output since it will drop down to approximately 1 µF at
high ambient temperatures (which could cause the LM2985
to oscillate). If Z5U or Y5V capacitors are used on the output,
a minimum capacitance value of 4.7 µF must be observed.
A better choice for temperature coefficient in ceramic capaci-
tors is X7R, which holds the capacitance within
fortunately, the larger values of capacitance are not offered
by all manufacturers in the X7R dielectric.
Tantalum
Tantalum capacitors are less desirable than ceramics for use
as output capacitors because they are more expensive when
comparing equivalent capacitance and voltage ratings in the
1 µF to 4.7 µF range.
Another important consideration is that Tantalum capacitors
have higher ESR values than equivalent size ceramics. This
means that while it may be possible to find a Tantalum
capacitor with an ESR value within the stable range, it would
have to be larger in capacitance (which means bigger and
more costly) than a ceramic capacitor with the same ESR
value.
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