MP2120 – 2.5A, 5.5V SYNCHRONOUS STEP-DOWN CONVERTER

MP2120 Rev. 0.92

www.MonolithicPower.com

9

9/7/2011

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External Schottky Diode

For this part, an external schottky diode is

recommended to be placed close to "SW" and

"GND" pins, especially when the output current is

larger than 2A.

With the external schottky diode, the voltage

spike and negative kick on "SW" pin can be

minimized; moreover, the conversion efficiency

can also be improved a little.

For the external schottky diode selection, it's

noteworthy that the maximum reverse voltage

rating of the external diode should be larger than

the maximum input voltage. As for the current

rating of this diode, 0.5A rating should be

sufficient.

PCB Layout Guide

PCB layout is very important to achieve stable

operation. It is highly recommended to duplicate

EVB layout for optimum performance. If change

is necessary, please follow these guidelines as

follows. Here, the typical application circuit is

taken as an example to illustrate the key layout

rules should be followed.

1) For MP2120, a PCB layout with more than (or)

four layers is recommended.

2) The high current paths (GND, IN and SW)

should be placed very close to the device with

short, direct and wide traces.

3) For MP2120, two input ceramic capacitors (2 x

(10μF~22μF)) are strongly recommended to be

placed on both sides of the MP2120 package

and keep them as close as possible to the “IN”

and “GND” pins. If this placement is not possible,

a ceramic cap (10μF~47μF) must be placed

across PIN7-“IN”and PIN9-“GND” since the

good decoupling is needed to avoid any

interference issues.

4) The external feedback resistors shall be

placed next to the FB pin. Keep the FB trace as

short as possible. Don’t place test points on FB

trace if possible.

5) Keep the switching node SW short and away

from the feedback network.

Top Layer

Inner Layer1

Inner Layer2