REV. 0

ADP3336

–6–

THEORY OF OPERATION

The new anyCAP LDO ADP3336 uses a single control loop for

regulation and reference functions. The output voltage is sensed

by a resistive voltage divider consisting of R1 and R2 which is

varied to provide the available output voltage option. Feedback

is taken from this network by way of a series diode (D1) and a

second resistor divider (R3 and R4) to the input of an amplifier.

PTAT

NONINVERTING

WIDEBAND

DRIVER

INPUT

Q1

ADP3336

COMPENSATION

CAPACITOR

ATTENUATION

R1

D1

R2

R3

R4

OUTPUT

PTAT

CURRENT

(a)

FB

GND

Figure 2. Functional Block Diagram

A very high gain error amplifier is used to control this loop. The

amplifier is constructed in such a way that equilibrium pro-

duces a large, temperature-proportional input, “offset voltage”

that is repeatable and very well controlled. The temperature-

proportional offset voltage is combined with the complementary

diode voltage to form a “virtual bandgap” voltage, implicit in

the network, although it never appears explicitly in the circuit.

Ultimately, this patented design makes it possible to control

the loop with only one amplifier. This technique also improves

the noise characteristics of the amplifier by providing more flexibil-

ity on the trade-off of noise sources that leads to a low noise design.

The R1, R2 divider is chosen in the same ratio as the bandgap

voltage to the output voltage. Although the R1, R2 resistor divider

is loaded by the diode D1 and a second divider consisting of R3

and R4, the values can be chosen to produce a temperature stable

output. This unique arrangement specifically corrects for the

loading of the divider thus avoiding the error resulting from

base current loading in conventional circuits.

The patented amplifier controls a new and unique noninverting

driver that drives the pass transistor, Q1. The use of this special

noninverting driver enables the frequency compensation to

include the load capacitor in a pole-splitting arrangement to

achieve reduced sensitivity to the value, type, and ESR of the

load capacitance.

Most LDOs place very strict requirements on the range of ESR

values for the output capacitor because they are difficult to stabilize

due to the uncertainty of load capacitance and resistance. More-

over, the ESR value, required to keep conventional LDOs stable,

changes depending on load and temperature. These ESR limita-

tions make designing with LDOs more difficult because of their

unclear specifications and extreme variations over temperature.

With the ADP3336 anyCAP LDO, this is no longer true. It can

be used with virtually any good quality capacitor, with no con-

straint on the minimum ESR. This innovative design allows the

circuit to be stable with just a small 1

µF capacitor on the out-

put. Additional advantages of the pole-splitting scheme include

superior line noise rejection and very high regulator gain, which

leads to excellent line and load regulation. An impressive

±1.8%

accuracy is guaranteed over line, load, and temperature.

Additional features of the circuit include current limit and ther-

mal shutdown.

APPLICATION INFORMATION

Capacitor Selection

Output Capacitors: as with any micropower device, output

transient response is a function of the output capacitance. The

ADP3336 is stable with a wide range of capacitor values, types

and ESR (anyCAP). A capacitor as low as 1

µF is all that is

needed for stability; larger capacitors can be used if high output

current surges are anticipated. The ADP3336 is stable with

extremely low ESR capacitors (ESR

≈ 0), such as multilayer

ceramic capacitors (MLCC) or OSCON. Note that the effective

capacitance of some capacitor types may fall below the mini-

mum at cold temperature. Ensure that the capacitor provides

more than 1

µF at minimum temperature.

Input Bypass Capacitor

An input bypass capacitor is not strictly required but is advisable

in any application involving long input wires or high source

impedance. Connecting a 1

µF capacitor from IN to ground

reduces the circuit's sensitivity to PC board layout. If a larger

value output capacitor is used, then a larger value input capaci-

tor is also recommended.

Noise Reduction

the output and the feedback pin to further reduce the noise by

6 dB–10 dB (TPC 18). Low leakage capacitors in 100 pF–500 pF

range provide the best performance. Since the feedback pin (FB)

is internally connected to a high impedance node, any connection

to this node should be carefully done to avoid noise pickup from

external sources. The pad connected to this pin should be as

small as possible and long PC board traces are not recommended.

When adding a noise reduction capacitor, maintain a mini-

mum load current of 1 mA when not in shutdown.

may be on the order of several milliseconds.

1 F

1 F

ADP3336

OUT

IN

GND

FB

ON

OFF

IN

OUT

OUT

R1

R2

SD

Figure 3. Typical Application Circuit