GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Furthermore, both line and load regulation are better than standard fixed regulators. In addition to higher performance than fixed regulators, the LM337L offers full overload protection. Included on the chip are current limit, thermal overload protection and safe area protection. All overload protection circuitry remains fully functional even if the adjustment terminal is disconnected. Normally, only a single 1 µF solid tantalum output capacitor is needed unless the device is situated more than 6 inches from the input filter capacitors, in which case an input bypass is needed. A larger output capacitor can be added to improve transient response. The adjustment terminal can be bypassed to achieve very high ripple rejection ratios which are difficult to achieve with standard 3-terminal regulators. Besides replacing fixed regulators, the LM337L 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.
National Semiconductor
