Hi
I have problem with max1676. The efficiency is very low. Is there anyone who has made a successful pcb layout using this chip and can show me how should it be look? I have the layout for the evaluation kit but have no idea how good this would be so I am looking for a few moreopinions.
GASP! Are you trying to tell us you were actually *able* to find a Maxim chip to *buy*??? Maybe that means Maxim actually makes a few dozen of their vaporware. Use anything else: easy to get, easy to use, and supported.
We acquired the EV kit for a Maxim Li-Ion charger chip, and found the design to work quite well with efficiency in the target range. (We also noted a grounding error on the board and advised them, but as we haven't wanted to buy another EV kit we don't now if they actually fixed the error).
If you don't want to buy the EV kit, replicate their board - I'm sure you'll find it works satisfactorily. Despite the sceptics here, what you DO get from Maxim is usually quite good.
Briefly looking at the typical 1676 circuit, there is little that you could get wrong other than the inductor. If the efficiency you are getting is "very low" I'd certainly be more focussed on inductor selection than on the layout.
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