8-BUCK Converter Design Kit Flextek Electronics www.flex-tek.

com

Description Kit enables customer to build, program, test, and analyze a Buck converter controlled by an 8-bit PIC Micro. Efficient design illustrates key concepts in simple terms that apply to a broad range of technologies. Kit includes blank PCB, programmed chip, and licensed Mini-CD with schematic, parts list, functional description, SPICE model, and assembly source code. Converter featured in EDN "Power Goes Digital" 8/18/5 tutorial and Professional Advancement Courses at Power Systems World. Contents - Blank PCB with parts list for customer assembly - PIC Micro programmed with power conversion code - Assembly source code with license to distribute machine code in programmed chips - Mini-CD documentation for hardware, firmware, and basic operation (copyright protected) Benefits - Flextek original technology to advance emerging field of digital power control - Valuable principles are universal to other devices and applications - Demonstrate capabilities and limitations of digital power essential to effective trades - Flextek grants customer license to program PIC Micro chips with compiled machine code Limits - Customer agrees not to disclose contents of CD documentation or code (each user purchases own kit) - Proven source code is commented but not covered by product support - Flextek consultation not included in kit purchase (available at additional cost) - Flextek makes no warranties expressed or implied

Assembled 8-Buck Converter PCB Photo

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Hardware

Vin = 10V to 14V

Vout = 1V to 11V 1.49K

LP2950 5V Prec Reg

5V Reference 20K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 PIC16F818 RA2 AN1 RA3 AN0 RA4 OX1 RST OX2 GND VDD RB0 PGD RB1 PGC RB2 RB5 PWM RB4 PWM Drive 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 ADC Feedback 20MHz

1.00K 1.00K 2200 uF 5 4700 pF 0.1 uF 22 pF 0.1 Lead uF Cap

6 7 VD TDA21201 IN OUT 4

12uF

47 uF

Half-Bridge Driver Chip GND 1 2 3

2200 uF

22 pF

8-Buck Converter Schematic with PIC Micro and Integrated Half-Bridge

3>

TT T

2 > 1) Ch 1: 1

2) Ch 2: 3) Ref A:

T 2 Volt 2.5 us 2 Volt 2.5 us 20 mVolt 2.5 us

Converter Waveforms show Output Voltage is Average of Switching Power 1) Switching power stage (2V/div, 2.5uS/div) 2) Filtered output voltage (2V/div, 2.5uS/div) 3) Output voltage ripple (20mV/div, 2.5uS/div)

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Performance 10V-14Vin, 1V-11Vout @ 7A 1.5in W x 3.6in L x 0.9in H, 2 oz. Wt. 92% at 5V/7A Output 156KHz, 7 bit resolution (94mVout) 25.6 S (PWM adjusted every 4th cycle) 38.4 S (19.2 S ADC + 19.2uS PID) 10 bit resolution (11mVout), 19.2 S conversion 12mVrms (switch + quantization) !Vpk = 90mV/A, 200S Recovery Summary Table

Ratings Size Efficiency Switching Update Process ADC Ripple Transient

1>

2>

T TT

1) Ch 1: 2) Ref A:

100 mVolt 250 us 100 mVolt 250 us

Open and Closed Loop Response of Converter to Step Load Verr = Vref - Vadc VerrDiff = Verr VerrLast VerrLast = Verr P = KP Verr I = I + KI Verr D = KD VerrDiff PWM = PID = P + I + D ; Voltage Error = Setpoint - Measured ; Differential error from last measurement ; Save error for next differential calculation ; Proportional term scaling ; Integral term scaling and running sum ; Differential term scaling ; Adjust PWM output by PID sum PID Closed Loop Control Algorithm

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Firmware

19.2u PWM INT PID ADC Exec

6.4u

25.6u

Micro Timing Chart

PIC Micro Development System

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Simulation

PWM
ESWAVG 2.4 LF 15u RL 0.055 CF 2200u

VOUT volts RS2 1.5k

ADC

Clead 0.1u

RC 0.030

ILOAD

RS1 1k

ADC
ERRAMP 1

Cdiff 0.0025u Rin 10k

Rprop 40K EPID 100K

Cint 0.01u

PID volts Rproc 1

PWM
Rupdate 1

Cproc 38.4u VREF 2 AC = 1 Cupdate 25.6u

SPICE Analog Equivalent of Switching Power Converter with Digital Control

Loop Gain indicating 2.4KHz Bandwidth and 45 Phase Margin

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Lessons General - Best solution is simplest one that works (strive to satisfy rather than impress) - Tight PCB layout with split ground plane and close charge storage capacitance for noise suppression - Thermal shutdown, limiting diodes and resistors, watchdog timer, and brownout detection for protection - Real-time firmware with multi-tasking and prioritized interrupts - PID by interrupt and main loop by polling - Synchronize ADC sampling to PWM - Right justify ADC for guard band against overflow - Protect against register overflow and underflow Equations - Critical Frequency: f(critical) = 1 / [Tprocess + Tupdate] = 1 / [(Tadc + Tpid) + Tupdate] (Converter performance is limited by digital delays rather than switching frequency) - Control Bandwidth: f(control) < f(critical) / 4 (Control loop bandwidth is bound by critical frequency) - LC Filter: LC1/2 > 2 / f(critical) (Contain LC filter resonance within loop bandwidth) - PWM Frequency: f(PWM) < [f(CLK) / 2Res(ADC) ] [LC1/2 / Tupdate] [Vmeas / Vin] (Maximum PWM frequency with control resolution equal to ADC)

Consider Flextek Education Kit to learn PC-Based Control

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