ADP3603
APPLICATION INFORMATION
The ADP3603 uses a charge pump to generate a negative out-
put voltage from a positive input supply. To understand the
operation of the ADP3603, a review of a basic switch capacitor
building block is helpful.
AB
V1
f
C1
V2
C2
RL
and S2 are turned OFF as well as S3 and S4 to prevent any
overlap. S3 and S4 are turned ON during the second phase (see
Figure 14) and charge stored in the pump capacitor is trans-
ferred to the output capacitor.
S1
VIN
S2
S3
CP
S4
COUT
VOUT
Figure 11. Basic Switch Capacitor Circuit
In Figure 11, when the switch is in the A position, capacitor
C1 will be charged to voltage V1. The total charge on C1 will
be q1 = C1V1.
The switch then moves to the B position, discharging C1 to
voltage V2. After this discharge time, the charge on C1 is q2 =
C1V2. The amount of charge transferred from the source, V1,
to the output, V2, is:
∆q = q1 – q2 = C1 (V1 – V2)
If the switch is cycled f times per second, the charge transfer
per unit time (i.e., current) is:
I = f ∆q = f C1 (V1 – V2)
To obtain an equivalent resistance for the switched-capacitor
network we can rewrite this equation in terms of voltage and
impedance equivalence:
I = (V1 – V2)/(1/fC1) = (V1 – V2)/REQUIV
where REQUIV is defined as:
REQUIV = 1/f C1
Figure 11 equivalent circuit can now be drawn as shown in
Figure 12.
REQUIV
V1
REQUIV =
1
fC1
V2
C2
RL
Figure 12. Basic Switch Capacitor Equivalent Circuit
THEORY OF OPERATION
A switched capacitor principle is used in the ADP3603 to
generate a negative voltage from a positive input voltage. An
on-board oscillator generates two phase clocks to control a
switching network which transfers charge between the storage
capacitors. The basic principle behind the voltage inversion
scheme is illustrated in Figures 13 and 14.
S1
VIN
S2
S3
CP
S4
COUT
VOUT
Figure 13. ADP3603 Switch Configuration Charging the
Pump Capacitor
During phase one, S1 and S2 are ON charging the pump
capacitor to the input voltage. Before the next phase begins, S1
Figure 14. ADP3603 Switch Configuration Charging the
Output Capacitor
During the second phase, the positive terminal of the pump
capacitor is connected to ground and the negative terminal is
connected to the output, resulting in a voltage inversion at the
output terminal. Output regulation is done by adjusting the ON
resistance of the S3 through the feedback control loop.
The ADP3603 alternately charges CP to the input voltage when
CP is switched in parallel with the input supply, and then trans-
fers charge to COUT when CP is switched in parallel with COUT.
Switching occurs at 120 kHz rate. During the time that CP is
charging, the peak current is approximately 2 times the output
current. During the time that CP is delivering charge to COUT,
the supply current drops down to about 2 mA. An input supply
bypass capacitor will supply part of the peak input current
drawn by the ADP3603, and average out the current drawn
from the supply. A minimum input supply bypass capacitor of
1 µF, preferably a low ESR capacitor such as tantalum or multi-
layer ceramic chip capacitor, is recommended. A large capacitor
may be desirable in some cases, for example when the input
supply is connected to the ADP3603 through long leads, or
when the pulse current drawn by the device might effect other
circuitry through supply coupling.
The output capacitor, COUT, is alternately charged to the CP
voltage when CP is switched in parallel with COUT. The ESR of
the COUT introduces steps in the VOUT waveform whenever the
charge pump charges COUT. This tends to increase VOUT ripple.
Ceramic or tantalum capacitors are recommended for COUT if
minimum ripple is desired. The ADP3603 can operate with a
range of capacitors from 1 µF to 100 µF and larger without any
stability problems. However, all tested parameters are obtained
using 10 µF multilayer ceramic capacitors.
In most applications, IR drops due to printed circuit board
traces do not present a problem. In this case, VSENSE is tied to
the output at a convenient pcb location not far from the VOUT.
However, if a reduction in IR drops or improvement in load
regulation is desired, the sense line can be used to monitor the
output voltage at the load. To avoid excessive noise pickup, the
VSENSE line should be as short as possible and away from any
noisy line.
Capacitor Selection
While the exact values of the CIN and COUT are not critical,
good quality, low ESR capacitors such as solid tantalum and
multilayer ceramic capacitors are recommended to minimize
voltage losses at high currents. For a given load current, factors
affecting the output voltage performance are in Figure 15:
• Pump (C2) and the output (C3) capacitance
• ESR of the C2 and C3.
–4–
REV. 0