
AMC
POWERMODULE
BACKPLANE
IN12
TPS2359
PASS
BLK
OUT12
SENP
1k
100
C
GS
C
GD
SimplifiedBLKFET
C
DS
C
GS
C
GD
SimplifiedPASSFET
C
DS
ESD
Diode
ESD
Diode
ESD
Diode
ESD
Diode
L
P
E=LI 2 /2
OUT12
R
P
L
P
E=LI 2/2
R
P
L
P +L EMI_FILTER
L
P
SLUS917D – FEBRUARY 2009 – REVISED MAY 2010
www.ti.com
Output Protection Considerations for MicroTCA Power Systems
MicroTCA Power systems have particular transient protection requirements because of the basic power
architecture. Traditional protection methods must be adjusted to accommodate these systems where the supplies
are OR’ed together after the inrush control and current limit circuits. However, minor changes to some standard
techniques will yield very good results.
Unlike systems which have hotswap/inrush control at the load, uTCA power modules and their hot-swap circuitry
are often a significant distance ( up to 1 m of trace length, two way ) from the load module. Even with the best
designed backplanes this distance results in stray inductance which will store energy while current is being
delivered to the load. The inductive energy can cause large negative voltage spikes at the power module output
when the current is switched off under load. The spikes become especially severe when the channel shuts off
due to a short circuit, which drives the current well above normal levels just before shut off.
The lowest voltage allowed on the device pins is -0.3 V. If a transient makes a pin more negative than -0.3 V the
internal ESD Zener diode attached to the pin will become forward biased and current will be conducted across
the substrate to the ground pins. This current may disrupt normal operation or, if large enough, damage the
silicon. Typical protection solutions involve capacitors, TVSs ( Transient Voltage Suppressors ) and/or a Schottky
diode to absorb the energy which appears at the power module output in the form of a large negative voltage
spike.
The Risk With Output Capacitors
Putting transient filter capacitors at the output of a uTCA power module can cause nuisance trips when that
power module is plugged into an active bus. If there is no series resistance with the capacitor and the bus is low
impedance an inrush surge can cause the active supply to “detect” a short circuit and shut down. One possible
solution is to put a few Ohms of resistance in series with the cap to limit inrush below the fast trip level. A better
solution is to put a Schottky diode across the output to clamp the transient energy and shunt it to ground as
shown in
Figure 32. Although the Schottky diode will absorb most of the energy, the extremely fast di/dt at
shutoff allows some of the leading edge energy to couple through the parasitic capacitances of the hotswap FET
and the ORing FET, ( CDS, CGS, CGD ) and into the BLK and GATE pins. Protection for these pins is provided by
100-
Ω GATE resistors which have little effect on normal operation but provide good isolation during transient
events.
Figure 32. Parasitic Inductance and Transient Protection
Output Bleed Down Resistance
When the TPS2359 commands the 12-V channel off there is a small leakage current sourced by the OUT12 pin.
If this leakage is ignored it can eventually charge any external capacitance to approximately 6 V. In some
systems this may be acceptable but, if not, the leakage can be bled to GND by commanding the internal bleed
down resistor on by setting 12xDS high.
12ADS = R1[7]
12DSB = R4[7]
If a hardware solution is preferred then a 1k resistor from OUT12 to GND will suffice. Maximum leakage is
around 23 uA and can be modeled as a 6-V source in series with a 280-k
Ω resistor.
40
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