EVAL-ADP1712/ADP1713/ADP1714

Rev. 0 | Page 6 of 8

LOAD REGULATION

For load regulation measurements, the regulator’s output is

monitored while the load is varied. For good load regulation,

the output must change as little as possible with varying load.

The input voltage must be held constant during this measure-

ment. The load current can be varied from 0 mA to 300 mA.

Figure 9 shows the typical load regulation performance of an

ADP1712 with fixed 3.3 V output for an input voltage of 3.8 V.

3.304

3.290

0.1

1000

1

10

100

3.302

3.300

3.298

3.296

3.294

3.292

Figure 9. Output Voltage vs. Load Current

DROPOUT VOLTAGE

Dropout voltage can be measured using the configuration

shown in Figure 7. Dropout voltage is defined as the input-to-

output voltage differential when the input voltage is set to the

nominal output voltage. This applies only for output voltages

above 2.5 V. Dropout voltage increases with larger loads. For

more accurate measurements, a second voltage meter can be

used to monitor the input voltage across the input capacitor.

The input supply voltage may need to be adjusted to account for

IR drops, especially if large load currents are used. Figure 10

shows a typical curve of dropout voltage measurements with

different load currents.

180

0

0.1

1000

1

10

100

160

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

Figure 10. Dropout Voltage vs. Load Current