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LT3514 Short-Circuited Behavior

Category: Hardware
Product Number: LT3514

I'm having some trouble with my LT3514 PMIC (TSSOP package), where it shows short-circuited behavior somewhere in my design. 

When powered on from the bench power supply with no load, I heard some inductor noises & bench power supply also hit the current limit (I set it to 0.15A) immediately.

I also measured the voltages from the output rails. Rail 1(SW1) is outputting 0.12V, SW3 with 0.025V, and SW4 with 0.087V. 

The PCB only has the PMIC. The output rails are routed to the board-to-board connectors. 

The screenshot below is my schematics:

The Vin is ranging from 6.8 - 12V.

Output rail #1 (SW1) set to 3.3V/1A. A 4.7uH (Part# 78438356047HT) inductor was used. The catch diode part number is SSA14.

Output rail #3 (SW3) set to 5.25V/2A. An 8.2uH (Part# 78438357082) inductor was used. The catch diode part number is SSA24-E3/61T.

Output rail #4 (SW4) set to 1.1V/1A. A 4.7uH (Part# 78438356047HT) inductor was used. The catch diode part number is SSA14.

SW5 I have a 10uH inductor (Part# 78438323100).

Any advice and suggestion would be highly appreciated!

 

  • Hi, 

    Thanks for the application of LT3514. 

    Sure, I checked the schematic.

    There are some places to be improved.

    1. For the input capacitor, it is recommended to a electrolytic cap for inrush current. A 22uF one is a good start value.

    2. For the soft start C16, the value seems too large, and the typical value is around 100nF. 

    3. The R9 value seems too low or the voltage driver R12/R9 looks too low for the Vin,min 6.8V. For the EN pin, it is recommended to leave some margin for the threshold voltage.

    For the short circuit issue, it seems that some place is shorted in the circuit. It is recommended to measure the impedance of the output terminal and input terminal and other point with the power supply off, to see whether there is any short circuit.

    Best regards,

    Andrew