Minimum voltage rating for output capacitor for use with LTC3525-5 boost voltage regulator

boostcapacitorsurface-mountswitching-regulatorvoltage-regulator

I'm (still) selecting parts to build a 3 to 5V boost DC-DC converter using the LTC3525-5. The board I'm planing to build is based on the typical application shown in page 11 of the aforementioned datasheet, which schematic I reproduce below:

DC-DC boost converter schematic

I'm having trouble finding the right output capacitor. The closest match I can find at my local suppliers is this 10uF X5R capacitor (JMK212BJ106KD-T) rated at 6.3V, but I think that's too close to the 5V output.

So, my questions are:

  1. Is the 6.3V capacitor appropriate for my application? If not, what would be a suitable replacement?
  2. What will be the maximum voltage I should expect at the output capacitor terminals? What would be the minimum voltage rating for such capacitor?

I tried, but couldn't find such information on the datasheet or elsewhere.

Best Answer

I simulated your circuit using LTSpice for 3V in and 4.2V in and there was virtually zero overshoot. That means you could use 6.3V capacitors. If your local supplier doesn't have any you can always order offline. You could probably get 10V caps just to feel safe and increase the robustness of the circuit if area and cost aren't super critical to this design.