24, 2015 9 Revision 2.0
Applications Information
The MIC37300/01/02/03 is a high-performance low-
dropout voltage regulator suitable for moderate to
high-current regulator applications. Its 500m V dropout
voltage at full load and over temperature makes it
especially valuable in battery-powered systems and
as high-efficiency noise filters in post-regulator
applications. Unlike older NPN-pass transistor
designs, where the minim um dropout v olt age is lim ited
by the based-to-emitter voltage drop and collector-to-
emitter saturation voltage, dropout perfor mance of the
PNP output of these devices is limited only b y the lo w
VCE saturation voltage.
A trade-off for the low dropout voltage is a varying
base drive requirement. Micrel’s Super ßeta PNP®
process reduces this drive requirement to only 2% to
5% of the load current.
The MIC37300/01/02/03 regulator is fully protected
from damage due to fault conditions. Current-limiting
is provided. This limiting is linear; output current
during overload conditions is constant. Thermal
shutdown disables the device when the die
temperature exceeds the maximum safe operating
temperature. The output structure of these regulators
allows voltages in excess of the desired output
voltage to be applied without reverse current flow.
Thermal Design
Linear regulators are simple to use. The most
complicated design parameters to consider are
thermal characteristics. Thermal design requires the
following app l icati on-specific parameters:
• Maximum ambient temperature (TA)
• Output current (IOUT)
• Output voltage (VOUT)
• Input voltage (VIN)
• Ground current (IGND)
First, calculate the power dissipation of the regulator
from these numbers and the device parameters from
this datasheet (Equation 1):
PD = (VIN – VOUT) IOUT + VIN IGND Eq. 1
where the ground current is approximated by using
numbers from the “Electrical Characteristics” or
“Typical Characteristics.”
Then the heat sink thermal resistance is determined
with Equation 2:
θSA = ((TJ(max) – TA)/PD) – (θJC + θCS) Eq. 2
where TJ(max) <125°C and θCS is between 0°C/W and
2°C/W. The heat sink may be significantly reduced in
applications where the minimum input voltage is
known and is large compared with the dropout
voltage. Use a series input resistor to drop excessive
voltage and distribute the heat between this resistor
and the regulator. The low-dropout properties of
Micrel’s Super ßeta PNP regulators allow significant
reductions in regulator power dissipation and the
associated heat sink without compromising
performance. When this technique is employed, a
capacitor of at least 1.0µF is needed direct ly between
the input and regulator ground.
Output Capacitor
The MIC37300/01/02/03 requires an output capacitor
for stable operation. As a µCap LDO, the
MIC37300/01/02/03 can operate with ceramic output
capacitors as long as the amount of capacitance is
47µF or greater. For values of output capacitance
lower than 47µF, the recommended ESR range is
200mΩ to 2Ω. The minimum value of output
capacitance recommended for the MIC37300 is 10µF.
For 47µF or greater, the ESR range recommended is
less than 1Ω. Ultra-low ESR, ceramic capacitors are
recommended for output capacitance of 47µF or
greater to help improve transient response and noise
reduction at high frequency. X7R/X5R dielectric-type
ceramic capacitors are recommended because of
their temperature performance. X7R-type capacitors
change capacitance by 15% over their operating
temperature range and are the most stable type of
ceramic capacitors. Z5U an d Y5V die lectric c apac itors
change value by as much as 50% and 60%,
respectively, over their operating temperature ranges.
To use a ceramic chip capacitor with Y5V dielectric,
the value must be much higher than an X7R ceramic
capacitor to ensure the same minimum capacitance
over the equivalent operating temperature range.