Figure 8-3 shows the typical set up for a capacitive load application and the internal blocks that function when the device is used. Note that all capacitive loads have an associated "load" in parallel with the capacitor that is described as a resistive load but in reality it can be inductive or resistive.

Figure 8-3 Capacitive Charging Circuit

The first thing to check is that the nominal DC current, I_NOM, is acceptable for the TPS1HTC30-Q1 device. This can easily be done by taking the R_θJA from the Thermal Information and multiplying the R_ON of the TPS1HTC30-Q1 and the INOM with it, add the ambient temperature and if that value is below the thermal shutdown value, then the device can operate with that load current. For an example of this calculation see the Section 9.2.

The second key care about for this application is to make sure that the capacitive load can be charged up completely without the device hitting thermal shutdown. This is because if the device hits thermal shutdown during the charging, the resistive nature of the load in parallel with the capacitor starts to discharge the capacitor over the duration the TPS1HTC30-Q1 is off. Note that there are some applications with high enough load impedance that the TPS1HTC30-Q1 hitting thermal shutdown and trying again is acceptable; however, for the majority of applications the system must be designed so that the TPS1HTC30-Q1 does not hit thermal shutdown while charging the capacitor.

With the current clamping feature of the TPS1HTC30-Q1, capacitors can be charged up at a lower inrush current than other high current limit switches. This lower inrush current means that the capacitor takes a little longer to charge all the way up.

For more information about capacitive charging with high side switches, see the How to Drive Resistive, Inductive, Capacitive, and Lighting Loads application note. This application note has information about the thermal modeling available along with quick ways to estimate if a high side switch is able to charge a capacitor to a given voltage.