LTC3889
17
Rev. 0
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OPERATION
ITH pin which is the output of the error amplifier, EA. The
EA negative terminal is equal to the VSENSE voltage divided
by 34 (6.8 if range = 1). The positive terminal of the EA is
connected to the output of a 12-bit DAC with values
ranging from 0V to 1.22V. The output voltage, through
feedback of the EA, will be regulated to 34 times the DAC
output (6.8 if range = 1). The DAC value is calculated by
the part to synthesize the users desired output voltage.
The output voltage is programmed by the user either with
the resistor configuration pins detailed in Table3 or by
the VOUT command (either from EEPROM, or by PMBus
command). Refer to the PMBus command section of the
data sheet or the PMBus specification for more details.
The output voltage can be modified by the user at any
time with a PMBus VOUT_COMMAND. This command
will typically have a latency less than 10ms.
Continuing the basic operation description, the current
mode controller will turn off the top gate when the peak
current is reached. If the load current increases, VSENSE
will slightly droop with respect to the DAC reference.
This causes the ITH voltage to increase until the average
inductor current matches the new load current. After the
top MOSFET has turned off, the bottom MOSFET is turned
on. In continuous conduction mode, the bottom MOSFET
stays on until the end of the switching cycle.
EEPROM
The LTC3889 contains internal EEPROM with error correc-
tion coding (ECC) to store user configuration settings and
fault log information. EEPROM endurance and retention for
user space and fault log pages are specified in the Absolute
Maximum Ratings and Electrical Characteristics table. The
LTC3889 EEPROM also contains a manufacturing section
that has internal redundancy.
The integrity of the entire onboard EEPROM is checked with
a CRC calculation each time its data is to be read, such as
after a power-on reset or execution of a RESTORE_USER_
ALL command. If a CRC error occurs, the CML bit is set in
the STATUS_BYTE and STATUS_WORD commands, the
EEPROM CRC Error bit in the STATUS_MFR_SPECIFIC
command is set, and the ALERT and RUN pins pulled low
(PWM channels off). At that point the device will respond
at special address 0x7C, which is activated only after an
invalid CRC has been detected. The chip will also respond
at the global addresses 0x5A and 0x5B, but use of these
addresses when attempting to recover from a CRC issue
is not recommended. All power supply rails associated
with either PWM channel of a device reporting an invalid
CRC should remain disabled until the issue is resolved.
Contact the factory if EEPROM repair is unsuccessful.
ADI recommends that the EEPROM not be written when
die temperature is greater than 85°C. If internal die tem-
perature exceeds 130°C, all EEPROM operations except
RESTORE_USER_ALL and MFR_RESET are disabled. Full
EEPROM operation is not re-enabled until die temperature
falls below 125°C. Refer to the Applications Information
section for equations to predict retention degradation due
to elevated operating temperatures.
See the Applications Information section or contact the
factory for details on efficient in-system EEPROM program-
ming, including bulk EEPROM programming, which the
LTC3889 also supports.
CRC Protection
The integrity of the EEPROM memory is checked after a
power-on reset. A CRC error will prevent the controller from
leaving the reset state. If a CRC error occurs, the CML bit is
set in the STATUS_BYTE and STATUS_WORD commands,
the appropriate bit is set in the STATUS_MFR_SPECIFIC
command, and the ALERT pin will be pulled low. EEPROM
repair can be attempted by writing the desired configura-
tion to the controller and executing a STORE_USER_ALL
command followed by a CLEAR_FAULTS command.
The LTC3889
protects the integrity of the manufacturing
data and the user data by implementing ECC and CRC
checks in the EEPROM. If the ECC cannot correct the
contents of a single bit fault in the EEPROM, a CRC fail-
ure will occur. This assures that all double bit faults are
detected
. If the CRC checks fail in either the manufactur-
ing or user data sections of the EEPROM, the “EEPROM
CRC Fault” in the STATUS_MFR_SPECIFIC command is
set. If this bit remains set after being cleared by issuing
a CLEAR_FAULTS or writing a 1 to this bit, an irrecover-
able fault has occurred. There are no provisions for field
repair of the EEPROM for these types of faults.