SNVS397F September 2005 – December 2025 LM5005
PRODUCTION DATA
A Schottky-type freewheeling diode is required for all LM5005 applications. Select the reverse breakdown of the diode rating for the maximum VIN plus some safety margin. Ultra-fast diodes are not recommended and can result in damage to the regulator due to reverse recovery current transients. The near ideal reverse recovery characteristics and low forward voltage drop of a Schottky diode are particularly important diode characteristics for high input voltage and low output voltage applications common to the LM5005.
The reverse recovery characteristic determines how long the current surge lasts each cycle when the buck switch is turned on. The benign reverse recovery characteristics of a Schottky diode minimizes the peak instantaneous power in the buck switch occurring during turnon each cycle, and the resulting switching losses of the buck switch are significantly reduced.
The forward voltage drop of the diode has a significant impact on the conversion efficiency, especially for applications with a low output voltage. Rated current for diodes vary widely from various manufactures. The worst case is to assume a short-circuit load condition. In this case the diode conducts the output current almost continuously. For the LM5005 this current can be as high as 3.5A. Assuming a worst-case 1V drop across the diode, the maximum diode power dissipation can be as high as 3.5W. For this design example, a 100V, 6A Schottky in a DPAK package is selected.