The input capacitor supplies the AC switching current drawn from the switching action of the internal power FETs. The input current of a buck converter is discontinuous, so the ripple current supplied by the input capacitor is large. The input capacitor must be rated to handle both the RMS current and the dissipated power.

The device is designed to be used with ceramic capacitors on the input of the buck regulator. The recommended dielectric type of these capacitors is X7R rating to maintain proper tolerances over voltage and temperature.

The device requires a minimum of 20 μF of ceramic capacitance at the input. TI recommends 2 × 10 μF, 10 μF for PVIN1 and 10 μF for PVIN2. Place these capacitors close to the PVIN1, PGND1, PVIN2, and the PGND2 pads. The ceramic input capacitors provide a low impedance source to the regulator in addition to supplying ripple current and isolating switching noise from other circuits. Table 9-1 shows the nominal and minimum values of total input capacitance recommended for the LMS36x5-Q1. Also shown are the measured values of effective capacitance for the indicated capacitor.

In addition, it is especially important to have small ceramic bypass capacitors of 10 nF to 100 nF very close to the PVIN1 and PVIN2 inputs to minimize ringing and EMI generation due to the high-speed switching of the device coupled with trace inductance. TI recommends that a small case size 10-nF ceramic capacitor be placed across the input, as close to the device as possible. Additional high-frequency capacitors can be used to help manage conducted EMI or voltage spike issues that may be encountered.

Many times it is desirable to use an additional electrolytic capacitor on the input, in parallel with the ceramics. This is especially true if long leads or traces are used to connect the input supply to the regulator. The moderate ESR of this capacitor can help damp any ringing on the input supply caused by long power leads. The use of this additional capacitor also helps with voltage dips caused by input supplies with unusually high impedance.