Αντικείμενο αυτής της διπλωματικής υπήρξε η μελέτη μιας νέας μεθόδου ενίσχυσης ακουστικών συχνοτήτων, που μπορεί να αναπαράγει τον ήχο με την υψηλή ποιότητα των ενισχυτών τάξης Α και ταυτόχρονα με υψηλή απόδοση ισχύος, που χαρακτηρίζει τους ενισχυτές τάξης D. / This Diploma Thesis studies a new method of audio amplifying that can reproduce sound with both high fidelity as found in a class A amplifier and high efficiency which is characteristic of class D amplifier.

In this thesis, the applicability of Class-D amplifiers to integrated wide-band communication line driver applications is studied. While Class-D techniques can address some of the efficiency limitations of linear amplifier structures and have shown promising results in low frequency applications, the low frequency techniques and knowledge need further development in order to improve their practicality for wide band systems. New structures and techniques to extend the application of Class-D to wide-band communication systems, in particular the HomePlug AV wire- line communication standard, will be proposed. Additionally, the digital processing requirements of these wide-band systems drives rapid movement towards nanometer technology nodes and presents new challenges which will be addressed, and new opportunities which will be exploited, for wide-band integrated Class-D line drivers. There are three main contributions of this research. First, a model of Class-D efficiency degradation mechanisms is created, which allows the impact of high-level design choices such as supply voltage, process technology and operating frequency to be assessed. The outcome of this section is a strategy for pushing the high efficiency of Class-D to wide band communication applications, with switching frequencies up to many hundreds of Megahertz. A second part of this research considers the design of efficient, fast and high power Class-D output stages, as these are the major efficiency and bandwidth bottleneck in wide-band applications. A novel NMOS-only totem pole output stage with a fast, integrated drive structure will be proposed. In a third section, a complete wide-band Class-D line driver is designed in a 0.13μm digital CMOS process. The line driver is systematically designed using a rigorous development methodology and the aims are to maximise the achievable signal bandwidth while minimising power dissipation. Novel circuits and circuit structures are proposed as part of this section and the resulting fabricated Class-D line driver test chip shows an efficiency of 15% while driving a 30MHz wide signal with an MTPR of 22dB, at 33mW injected power.

Les convertisseurs de puissance sont largement utilisés de nos jours dans des applications qui demandent une grande autonomie énergétique, comme par exemple ceux qui sont alimentés par des batteries. En particulier, les amplificateurs de type Class-D sont fréquemment utilisés dans les applications audio. Ces amplificateurs commutés ont une architecture ressemblante à celle d'un convertisseur DC-DC, ce qui les permet d'avoir une efficacité énergétique élevée. Cependant, leur inconvénient majeur est la forte émission en perturbations électromagnétiques (EM). Cela peut causer des problèmes de conformité avec les normes de compatibilité électromagnétique (CEM), ou bien perturbé le bon fonctionnement des applications électroniques qui l'entour. Pour cela, ils existent de nombreuses études qui permettent de réduire les émissions d'un amplificateur de Class D. Cependant, cela n'est pas suffisant pour retirer le filtre de CEM. Il est donc nécessaire d'optimiser ces filtres et de faciliter leurs conceptions. Ceci est le but de la présente thèse et il est divisé en quatre grandes parties. La première partie commence par développer une technique de modélisation dans le domaine fréquentiel. Cette technique qui est basée sur la détermination et la manipulation des matrices d'impédances a comme but de simuler et prédire les perturbations EM générées par un amplificateur de Class D. Tous les aspects théoriques de la méthode ont été développés. Ensuite, une application pratique sur un système de Class D dédié à la téléphonie mobile nous a permis de valider la méthode jusqu'à une fréquence de 100 MHz. Un amplificateur de Class D est une source de perturbation aussi bien sur les rails d'alimentation que sur les rails de sortie. Pour cela, le filtre de CEM est nécessaire sur les rails de l'alimentation comme il y est en sortie. Néanmoins, un filtre correctement construit doit être conçu en prenant en compte l'impédance de la charge qui est la batterie dans ce cas. Pour cela, la deuxième partie a pour objectif la mesure de l'impédance de la batterie sur la gamme de fréquence considérée. Ainsi, une technique de mesure d'impédance de batterie en utilisant un impédance mètre est développée. Ensuite, une application expérimentale sur un convertisseur DC-DC et une batterie nous a permis de valider la procédure de mesure. La troisième partie s'est focalisée sur l'optimisation du filtre de CEM. Le modèle fréquentiel développé dans la première partie est intégré dans une boucle d'optimisation basée sur un algorithme génétique. L'optimisation inclus plusieurs critères dans sa fonction objective qui sont l'augmentation de la capacité du filtre à réduire les émissions EM, la diminution des pertes supplémentaires due à l'utilisation du filtre et finalement le gain du filtre dans la bande de fréquence du signal audio. Cette étude est poursuivie par une validation expérimentale. La quatrième et la dernière partie étudie et quantifie les impacts du filtre de CEM sur la qualité audio de l'amplificateur. En effet, le filtre de CEM est l'un des chemins propagation du signal audio. Par suite, tout comportement non linéaire du filtre conduit à la distorsion du signal audio. Pour cela, cette partie est dédiée à la modélisation et la simulation des composants passifs contenant un matériau magnétique. En particulier, l'étude s'est focalisée sur la modélisation des perles de ferrite en utilisant le modèle de matériaux magnétiques Jiles-Aterthon. Les résultats de simulations sont comparés avec la mesure dans le domaine temporel et fréquentiel. En plus, le calcul du taux de distorsion harmonique nous a permis de valider le modèle sur une large plage d'amplitude. / Switching power management circuits are widely used in battery powered embedded applications in order to increase their autonomy. In particular, for audio applications, Class-D amplifiers are a widespread industrial solution. These, have a similar architecture of a buck converter but having the audio signal as reference. The switching nature of these devices allows us to increase significantly the power efficiency compared to linear audio amplifiers without reducing the audio quality. However, because of the switching behavior, Class-D amplifiers have high levels of electromagnetic (EM) emissions which can disturb the surrounding electronics or might not comply with electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) standards. To overcome this problem much architecture appeared in the state of the art that reduces the emissions, however, this has never been enough to remove electromagnetic interference (EMI) filters. It is then useful to optimize these filters, thus, it has been set as the goal of this PhD thesis. The latter has been divided to four main axes which can be resumed by the following. First, this work started by developing a frequency domain modeling method in order to simulate and predict the EMI of Class-D amplifiers in the final application. The method is based on system to block decomposition and impedance matrix modeling and manipulation. After providing all the theoretical background, the method has been validated on integrated differential Class-D amplifier. The experimental measurements have permitted to validate the method only up to 100MHz. However, this is sufficient to cover the conducted EMC frequency band. Second, the EMI at the supply rails of Class-D amplifiers has been treated. As the battery is often the same power supply for all applications in an embedded system, an EMI filter or a decoupling capacitor is needed to prevent the noise coupling by common impedance. Designing this filter needs the knowledge of the battery impedance at the desired frequencies. Therefore the present work dealt also with measuring the high frequency impedance of a battery. Afterwards, an experimental validation has been carried on with a DC-DC converter and a Class-D amplifier. The developed model allows a virtual test of the switching device in the final application. However, it is more useful if the model is able to help the system integrator in designing filters. Thus, third, the model has been implemented in an optimization loop based on a genetic algorithm in order to optimize the filter response, and also, reduce the additional power losses introduced by an EMI filter. The optimization search space has been limited to the components available on the market and the optimization result is given as component references of the optimal filter referring to the optimal solution found. This procedure has been validated experimentally. Finally, EMI filters often are constituted by magnetic components such as ferrite beads or inductors with magnetic cores. Thus, introducing the EMI filter in the audio path, adds a nonlinear behavior in the audio frequency band. Designing a high quality EMI filter require taking into account this phenomenon and studying its impact of the original amplifier audio performance. Therefore, the Jiles-Atherton model for magnetic materials has been used for ferrite bead modeling. Hereafter, the impact on the time and frequency domain signals has been simulated and compared to measurements. Finally, the total harmonic distortion (THD) has been computed for different signal amplitudes and compared to the THD measured using an audio analyzer. Accurate results have been obtained on a wide range of signal amplitudes. As a conclusion, this work aimed to design optimal EMI filters for Class-D amplifiers. Thus, we dealt with improving their EMI response, reducing their additional power losses and evaluating their impact on the audio quality.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The objectives of this work and present a class D amplifiers and full-bridge class D amplifier used to supply one or more high pressure sodium lamps (HPS). In this work, the lamps are feed a synthesized waveform to avoid acoustic resonance. The waveform injected contains a fundamental frequency around 1kHz and its third harmonic. The injection waveform synthesized prevents acoustic resonance the spread power the lamp in spectrum frequency. The ease of control of Class D amplifiers ensures a waveform without major changes in relation to entry. The control strategy and operation of the amplifiers stages have been shown. Studies were presented the strategies used to avoid acoustic resonance and detailed analysis of the injection waveform synthesized. The results of the simulations and practical results obtained were presented. / O objetivo deste trabalho é apresentar a utilização de amplificadores classe D e um nova topologia de amplificador full-bridge, classe D, para acionar uma ou mais lâmpadas de Alta Pressão de Sódio (HPS). As lâmpadas são alimentadas por uma forma de onda sintetizada para evitar a ressonância acústica, onde a forma de onda contém uma frequência fundamental de 1kHz e sua terceira harmônica. Essa técnica é utilizada para evitar o surgimento da ressonância acústica, espalhando no espectro da frequência a potência distribuída na lâmpada. A facilidade do controle dos amplificadores classe D garante uma forma de onda sem grandes variações em relação à entrada. A estratégia de controle e as etapas de funcionamento dos amplificadores são apresentadas juntamente ao estudo das técnicas utilizadas para evitar a ressonância acústica e a análise detalhada sobre a injeção da forma de onda sintetizada. Os resultados das simulações e os resultados práticos obtidos foram apresentados. / Doutor em Ciências