TPS6010x/TPS6011x Charge Pump (Rev. A)

Charge pumps are dc/dc converters that use a capacitor instead of an inductor or transformer for energy storage. They are able to generate positive or negative voltages from the input voltage. The input voltage can be multiplied by some factor such as 0.5, 2, 3, and so on, to generate the output voltage desired. Often, charge pumps and all related parts (including those used for energy storage) are integrated in some other circuits, such as some PLL devices where a negative voltage is required. Integrated charge pumps can only supply a small amount of current due to the limitation in the size of integrated capacitors. If more current is needed, a dc/dc converter is required with sufficient energy storage capacity to handle this higher current. This requires the use of some external components. Most charge pumps have had the disadvantage of having an unregulated output voltage that was simply the input voltage multiplied by some factor. The first TI charge pump family, the TPS6010x/TPS6011x, is a family of regulated charge pumps with different output voltages and different output current versions up to 300 mA. Only four external components are necessary to generate this high current. The TPS6010x parts have a regulated output voltage of 3.3 V, and the TPS6011x devices provide 5 V. The output voltage is very precise due to special circuit design and shows only a very small ripple. This application report is a detailed description of the use of TI's TPS6010x and TPS6011x charge pump devices. It includes the basic operation of the charge pumps, a detailed description of the features of the TPS6010x/TPS6011x devices, the requirements and best choice of external components, the recommended layout, and some design examples.