LM138 LM338 5-Amp Adjustable Regulators

March 1995

LM138 LM338 5-Amp Adjustable Regulators

General Description
The LM138 series of adjustable 3-terminal positive voltage regulators is capable of supplying in excess of 5A over a 1 2V to 32V output range They are exceptionally easy to use and require only 2 resistors to set the output voltage Careful circuit design has resulted in outstanding load and line regulation comparable to many commercial power supplies The LM138 family is supplied in a standard 3-lead transistor package A unique feature of the LM138 family is time-dependent current limiting The current limit circuitry allows peak currents of up to 12A to be drawn from the regulator for short periods of time This allows the LM138 to be used with heavy transient loads and speeds start-up under full-load conditions Under sustained loading conditions the current limit decreases to a safe value protecting the regulator Also included on the chip are thermal overload protection and safe area protection for the power transistor Overload protection remains functional even if the adjustment pin is accidentally disconnected Normally no capacitors are needed unless the device is situated more than 6 inches from the input filter capacitors in which case an input bypass is needed An output capacitor can be added to improve transient response while bypassing the adjustment pin will increase the regulators ripple rejection Besides replacing fixed regulators or discrete designs the LM138 is useful in a wide variety of other applications Since the regulator is floating and sees only the input-to-output differential voltage supplies of several hundred volts can be regulated as long as the maximum input to output differential is not exceeded i e do not short-circuit output to ground The part numbers in the LM138 series which have a K suffix are packaged in a standard Steel TO-3 package while those with a T suffix are packaged in a TO-220 plastic package The LM138 is rated for b55 C s TJ s a 150 C and the LM338 is rated for 0 C s TJ s a 125 C

Features
Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

Guaranteed 7A peak output current Guaranteed 5A output current Adjustable output down to 1 2V Guaranteed thermal regulation Current limit constant with temperature P a Product Enhancement tested Output is short-circuit protected

Applications
Y Y Y

Adjustable power supplies Constant current regulators Battery chargers

Connection Diagrams (See Physical Dimension section for further information)

(TO-3 STEEL) Metal Can Package (TO-220) Plastic Package

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Front View Order Number LM338T See NS Package Number T03B

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Bottom View Order Number LM138K STEEL or LM338K STEEL See NS Package Number K02A

C1995 National Semiconductor Corporation

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RRD-B30M115 Printed in U S A

Absolute Maximum Ratings (Note 1)

If Military Aerospace specified devices are required please contact the National Semiconductor Sales Office Distributors for availability and specifications (Note 4) Power Dissipation Internally limited a 40V b 0 3V Input Output Voltage Differential Storage Temperature
b 65 C to a 150 C

Lead Temperature Metal Package (Soldering 10 seconds) Plastic Package (Soldering 4 seconds) ESD Tolerance

300 C 260 C TBD

Operating Temperature Range

LM138 LM338
b 55 C s TJ s a 150 C 0 C s TJ s a 125 C

Electrical Characteristics
Specifications with standard type face are for TJ e 25 C and those with boldface type apply over full Operating Temperature Range Unless otherwise specified VIN b VOUT e 5V and IOUT e 10 mA (Note 2) Symbol VREF VRLINE Parameter Reference Voltage Line Regulation Conditions Min 3V s (VIN b VOUT) s 35V 10 mA s IOUT s 5A P s 50W 3V s (VIN b VOUT) s 35V (Note 3) 1 19 LM138 Typ 1 24 0 005 0 02 VRLOAD Load Regulation 10 mA s IOUT s 5A (Note 3) 01 03 Thermal Regulation IADJ DIADJ D VR T ILOAD(Min) ICL Adjustment Pin Current Adjustment Pin Current Change Temperature Stability Minimum Load Current Current Limit 10 mA s IOUT s 5A 3V s (VIN b VOUT) s 35V TMIN s TJ s TMAX VIN b VOUT e 35V VIN b VOUT s 10V DC 0 5 ms Peak VIN b VOUT e 30V VN D VR DVIN RMS Output Noise % of VOUT Ripple Rejection Ratio Long-Term Stability iJC iJA Thermal Resistance Junction to Case Thermal Resistance Junction to Ambient (No Heat Sink) 10 Hz s f s 10 kHz VOUT e 10V f e 120 Hz CADJ e 0 mF VOUT e 10V f e 120 Hz CADJ e 10 mF TJ e 125 C 1000 Hrs K Package K Package 35 60 5 7 20 ms Pulse 0 002 45 02 1 35 8 12 1 0 003 60 75 03 1 1 1 5 Max 1 29 0 01 0 04 03 06 0 01 100 5 V % V % V % % % W mA mA % mA A A A % dB dB % C W C W Units

Electrical Characteristics (Continued) Specifications with standard type face are for TJ e 25 C and those with boldface type apply over full Operating Temperature Range Unless otherwise specified VIN b VOUT e 5V and IOUT e 10 mA (Note 2)
Symbol VREF VRLINE VRLOAD Parameter Reference Voltage Line Regulation Load Regulation Thermal Regulation IADJ DIADJ D VR T ILOAD(Min) ICL Adjustment Pin Current Adjustment Pin Current Change Temperature Stability Minimum Load Current Current Limit 10 mA s IOUT s 5A 3V s (VIN b VOUT) s 35V TMIN s TJ s TMAX VIN b VOUT e 35V VIN b VOUT s 10V DC 0 5 ms Peak VIN b VOUT e 30V VN D VR DVIN RMS Output Noise % of VOUT Ripple Rejection Ratio Long-Term Stability iJC iJA Thermal Resistance Junction to Case Thermal Resistance Junction to Ambient (No Heat Sink) 10 Hz s f s 10 kHz VOUT e 10V f e 120 Hz CADJ e 0 mF VOUT e 10V f e 120 Hz CADJ e 10 mF TJ e 125 C 1000 hrs K Package T Package K Package T Package 35 50 60 0 003 60 75 03 1 1 4 5 7 Conditions Min 3V s (VIN b VOUT) s 35V 10 mA s IOUT s 5A P s 50W 3V s (VIN b VOUT) s 35V (Note 3) 10 mA s IOUT s 5A (Note 3) 20 ms Pulse 1 19 LM338 Typ 1 24 0 005 0 02 01 03 0 002 45 02 1 35 8 12 1 10 Max 1 29 0 03 0 06 05 1 0 02 100 5 V % V % V % % % W mA mA % mA A A A % dB dB % C W C W C W C W Units

Note 1 Absolute Maximum Ratings indicate limits beyond which damage to the device may occur Operating Ratings indicate conditions for which the device is intended to be functional but do not guarantee specific performance limits For guaranteed specifications and test conditions see the Electrical Characteristics Note 2 These specifications are applicable for power dissipations up to 50W for the TO-3 (K) package and 25W for the TO-220 (T) package Power dissipation is guaranteed at these values up to 15V input-output differential Above 15V differential power dissipation will be limited by internal protection circuitry All limits (i e the numbers in the Min and Max columns) are guaranteed to Nationals AOQL (Average Outgoing Quality Level) Note 3 Regulation is measured at a constant junction temperature using pulse testing with a low duty cycle Changes in output voltage due to heating effects are covered under the specifications for thermal regulation Note 4 Refer to RETS138K drawing for military specifications of LM138K

Typical Performance Characteristics

Current Limit Current Limit Current Limit

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Typical Performance Characteristics

Load Regulation

(Continued) Adjustment Current

Dropout Voltage

Temperature Stability

Output Impedance

Minimum Operating Current

Ripple Rejection

Ripple Rejection

Ripple Rejection

Line Transient Response

Load Transient Response

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Application Hints
In operation the LM138 develops a nominal 1 25V reference voltage VREF between the output and adjustment terminal The reference voltage is impressed across program resistor R1 and since the voltage is constant a constant current I1 then flows through the output set resistor R2 giving an output voltage of VOUT e VREF

Load Regulation The LM138 is capable of providing extremely good load regulation but a few precautions are needed to obtain maximum performance The current set resistor connected between the adjustment terminal and the output terminal (usually 240X) should be tied directly to the output of the regulator (case) rather than near the load This eliminates line drops from appearing effectively in series with the reference and degrading regulation For example a 15V regulator with 0 05X resistance between the regulator and load will have a load regulation due to line resistance of 0 05X c IL If the set resistor is connected near the load the effective line resistance will be 0 05X (1 a R2 R1) or in this case 11 5 times worse

1

R2 R1

a IADJR2

Figure 2 shows the effect of resistance between the regulator and 240X set resistor

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FIGURE 1 Since the 50 mA current from the adjustment terminal represents an error term the LM138 was designed to minimize IADJ and make it very constant with line and load changes To do this all quiescent operating current is returned to the output establishing a minimum load current requirement If there is insufficient load on the output the output will rise External Capacitors An input bypass capacitor is recommended A 0 1 mF disc or 1 mF solid tantalum on the input is suitable input bypassing for almost all applications The device is more sensitive to the absence of input bypassiing when adjustment or output capacitors are used but the above values will eliminate the possiblity of problems The adjustment terminal can be bypassed to ground on the LM138 to improve ripple rejection This bypass capacitor prevents ripple from being amplified as the output voltage is increased With a 10 mF bypass capacitor 75 dB ripple rejection is obtainable at any output level Increases over 20 mF do not appreciably improve the ripple rejection at frequencies above 120 Hz If the bypass capacitor is used it is sometimes necessary to include protection diodes to prevent the capacitor from discharging through internal low current paths and damaging the device In general the best type of capacitors to use are solid tantalum Solid tantalum capacitors have low impedance even at high frequencies Depending upon capacitor construction it takes about 25 mF in aluminum electrolytic to equal 1 mF solid tantalum at high frequencies Ceramic capacitors are also good at high frequencies but some types have a large decrease in capacitance at frequencies around 0 5 MHz For this reason 0 01 mF disc may seem to work better than a 0 1 mF disc as a bypass Although the LM138 is stable with no output capacitors like any feedback circuit certain values of external capacitance can cause excessive ringing This occurs with values between 500 pF and 5000 pF A 1 mF solid tantalum (or 25 mF aluminum electrolytic) on the output swamps this effect and insures stability

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FIGURE 2 Regulator with Line Resistance in Output Lead With the TO-3 package it is easy to minimize the resistance from the case to the set resistor by using 2 separate leads to the case The ground of R2 can be returned near the ground of the load to provide remote ground sensing and improve load regulation Protection Diodes When external capacitors are used with any IC regulator it is sometimes necessary to add protection diodes to prevent the capacitors from discharging through low current points into the regulator Most 20 mF capacitors have low enough internal series resistance to deliver 20A spikes when shorted Although the surge is short there is enough energy to damage parts of the IC When an output capacitor is connected to a regulator and the input is shorted the output capacitor will discharge into the output of the regulator The discharge current depends on the value of the capacitor the output voltage of the regulator and the rate of decrease of VIN In the LM138 this discharge path is through a large junction that is able to sustain 25A surge with no problem This is not true of other types of positive regulators For output capacitors of 100 mF or less at output of 15V or less there is no need to use diodes The bypass capacitor on the adjustment terminal can discharge through a low current junction Discharge occurs when either the input or output is shorted Internal to the LM138 is a 50X resistor which limits the peak discharge current No protection is needed for output voltages of 25V or less and 10 mF capacitance Figure 3 shows an LM138 with protection diodes included for use with outputs greater than 25V and high values of output capacitance

Application Hints (Continued)

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D1 protects against C1 D2 protects against C2

VOUT e 1 25V

FIGURE 3 Regulator with Protection Diodes

1

R2 R1

a IADJR2

Typical Applications
Regulator and Voltage Reference Temperature Controller

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1 2V 25V Adjustable Regulator

Full output current not available at high input-output voltages Optional improves transient response Output capacitors in the range of 1 mF to 1000 mF of aluminum or tantalum electrolytic are commonly used to provide improved output impedance and rejection of transients Needed if device is more than 6 inches from filter capacitors VOUT e 1 25V

R1 e 240X for LM138 R1 R2 as an assembly can be ordered from Bourns MIL part no 7105A-AT2-502 COMM part no 7105A-AT7-502
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1

R2 R1

a IADJ (R2)

Schematic Diagram

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Typical Applications (Continued)

Precision Power Regulator with Low Temperature Coefficient

Adjust for 3 75 across R1

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Slow Turn-On 15V Regulator

Adjustable Regulator with Improved Ripple Rejection

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Solid tantalum Discharges C1 if output is shorted to ground R1 e 240X for LM138

High Stability 10V Regulator

Digitally Selected Outputs

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Sets maximum VOUT R1 e 240X for LM138

Typical Applications (Continued)

15A Regulator

Minimum load

100 mA
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5V Logic Regulator with Electronic Shutdown

0 to 22V Regulator

Minimum output

1 2V

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Light Controller
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R1 e 240X R2 e 5k for LM138 Full output current not available at high input-output voltages

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Typical Applications (Continued)

12V Battery Charger

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Adjustable Current Regulator

Precision Current Limiter

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Tracking Preregulator

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5A Current Regulator

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10

Typical Applications (Continued)

Adjusting Multiple On-Card Regulators with Single Control

Minimum load

10 mA
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All outputs within g 100 mV

Power Amplifier

AV e 1 RF e 10k CF e 100 pF AV e 10 RF e 100k CF e 10 pF Bandwidth t 100 kHz Distortion s 0 1%

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Simple 12V Battery Charger

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RS

sets output impedance of charger ZOUT e RS

Use of RS allows low charging rates with fully charged battery The 1000 mF is recommended to filter out input transients

1a

R2 R1

11

Typical Applications (Continued)

Adjustable 15A Regulator Current Limited 6V Charger

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Set max charge current to 3A The 1000 mF is recommended to filter out input transients

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10A Regulator

Minimum load

100 mA
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12

Physical Dimensions inches (millimeters)

2 Lead TO-3 Metal Can Package (K) Order Number LM138K or LM338K STEEL NS Package Number K02A

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LM138 LM338 5-Amp Adjustable Regulators

Physical Dimensions inches (millimeters) (Continued)

3 Lead Molded TO-220 (T) Order Number LM338T NS Package Number T03B

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