LP5904

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SNVS637G – MARCH 2011 – REVISED APRIL 2013

attractive for reasons of size and cost (see CAPACITOR CHARACTERISTICS below).

The output capacitor must meet the requirement for the minimum value of capacitance and have an ESR value

that is within the range 5m

Ω to 500 mΩ for stability.

REMOTE CAPACITOR OPERATION

The LP5904 requires at least a 1µF capacitor at output pin, but there is no strict requirements about the location

of the capacitor in regards the LDO output pin. In practical designs the output capacitor may be located some 5-

10 cm away from the LDO. This means that there is no need to have a special capacitor close to the output pin if

there is already respective capacitor(s) in the system (like a capacitor at the input of supplied part). The Remote

Capacitor feature helps user to minimize the number of capacitors in the system.

As a good design practice, it is good to keep the wiring parasitic inductance at a minimum, which means to use

as wide as possible traces from the LDO output to the capacitor(s), keeping the LDO trace layer as close as

possible to ground layer and avoiding vias on the path. If there is a need to use vias, implement as many as

possible vias between the connection layers. The recommendation is to keep parasitic wiring inductance less

than 35 nH. For the applications with fast load transients, it is recommended to use an input capacitor equal to or

larger to the sum of the capacitance at the output node for the best load transient performance.

CAPACITOR CHARACTERISTICS

The LP5904 is designed to work with ceramic capacitors on the input and output to take advantage of the

benefits they offer. For capacitance values in the range of 0.5 µF to 10 µF, ceramic capacitors are the smallest,

least expensive and have the lowest ESR values, thus making them best for eliminating high frequency noise.

The ESR of a typical 1.0 µF ceramic capacitor is in the range of 20 m

Ω to 40 mΩ, which easily meets the ESR

requirement for stability for the LP5904.

The temperature performance of ceramic capacitors varies by type and manufacturer. Most large value ceramic

capacitors (

≥ 2.2 µF) are manufactured with Z5U or Y5V temperature characteristics, which results in the

capacitance dropping by more than 50% as the temperature goes from 25°C to 85°C.

A better choice for temperature coefficient in a ceramic capacitor is X7R. This type of capacitor is the most stable

and holds the capacitance within ±15% over the temperature range. Tantalum capacitors are less desirable than

ceramic for use as output capacitors because they are more expensive when comparing equivalent capacitance

and voltage ratings in the 0.5 µF to 10 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. It should also be noted that the ESR of a typical tantalum will increase about

2:1 as the temperature goes from 25°C down to –40°C, so some guard band must be allowed.

NO-LOAD STABILITY

The LP5904 will remain stable and in regulation with no external load.

ENABLE CONTROL

The LP5904 may be switched ON or OFF by a logic input at the ENABLE pin. A high voltage at this pin will turn

the device on. When the enable pin is low, the regulator output is off and the device typically consumes 3nA.

regulator output permanently on.

A 1M

able to swing above and below the specified turn-on/off voltage thresholds listed in the Electrical Characteristics

DSBGA MOUNTING

The DSBGA package requires specific mounting techniques, which are detailed in Texas Instruments Application

Note AN-1112 (SNVA009).

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