Switch Mode Power Supplies are very important components in present day electronics and have continued to thrive and grow over the past 25 years. This thesis looks inside how the SMPS have evolved over the passage of years with special emphasis to the Synchronous Buck Converter. It also discusses why there is a strong potential to further the study related to designs based around a Synchronous Buck Converter for portable applications. The main objective of the thesis is to look into the controller design for minimizing size, enhancing efficiency and reliability of power converters in portable electronic equipment such as mobile phones and PDAs. The thesis aims to achieve this using a 90 nm process with an input voltage of 1.55V and an output of 1V with a power dissipation of 200mW.

The primary focus of this thesis is to present a simple and practical implementation of an optimal-time response controller for multiphase interleaved dc-dc SMPS. This novel solution enables equal current sharing between phases not only in steady-state, but also during load transients, as well as bump-less transition between those two states. A digital voltage loop and multiple analog peak current programmed mode current loops are combined to implement a capacitor charge balance control algorithm with fairly simple hardware. This algorithm provides recovery from a disturbance in a single on-off switching action, which is performed in virtually the fastest possible time. The hybrid interface between the loops is provided through a structure combining a sample-and-hold circuit and a relatively slow successive-approximation DAC that provides control signals for all the loops in the system. Furthermore, for operation under light load conditions, the controller automatically switches into simply implemented pulse-frequency mode of operation.

The primary focus of this thesis is to present a simple and practical implementation of an optimal-time response controller for multiphase interleaved dc-dc SMPS. This novel solution enables equal current sharing between phases not only in steady-state, but also during load transients, as well as bump-less transition between those two states. A digital voltage loop and multiple analog peak current programmed mode current loops are combined to implement a capacitor charge balance control algorithm with fairly simple hardware. This algorithm provides recovery from a disturbance in a single on-off switching action, which is performed in virtually the fastest possible time. The hybrid interface between the loops is provided through a structure combining a sample-and-hold circuit and a relatively slow successive-approximation DAC that provides control signals for all the loops in the system. Furthermore, for operation under light load conditions, the controller automatically switches into simply implemented pulse-frequency mode of operation.

The objective of the proposed research is to use MEMS technology to develop low profile power inductors with minimized eddy current losses to be used in high power density compact switching converters. Eddy currents arise in high-flux density metallic cores as increased switching frequencies of DC-DC converters cause the skin depth to be small compared with the core thickness. Laminations can reduce the eddy current losses but converters operating with switching frequencies in the MHz regime may require submicron laminations. Previous research has been done to fabricate inductors with micron-scale laminated cores for high frequency switching converters. To optimize the previous fabrication technique, an automated electroplating system was developed for the fabrication of thick magnetic cores comprising large number of submicron laminations without human intervention. Inductors with higher inductance, quality factor and power handling capacity have been realized compared to previously developed inductors. The inductors are characterized in terms of saturation behavior and power handling capability. A miniaturized DC-DC converter with power conversion capacity of 10 Watts has been demonstrated using the fabricated inductor.

Modern switch-mode power supplies (SMPS) used for point-of-load (PoL) applications need to meet increasingly stringent requirements on voltage regulation, while minimizing physical volume and optimizing conversion efficiency. The focus of this thesis is the voltage regulation capability of low-power PoL converters during load transients. The main objective is to investigate converter topologies and control techniques that can achieve fast and smooth transient performance without significant penalty in volume and efficiency. The digital control method is used due to its ability to implement sophisticated control algorithms. The first part of this thesis investigates a dual output stages converter, with a small auxiliary output stage connected in parallel with the main output stage. While the main output stage is responsible for steady-state operation and designed to achieve optimum efficiency, the auxiliary stage is activated when a load transient occurs, to help suppress voltage deviation. Experimental results on a 6 V-to-1 V, 3W buck converter shows 35% improvement in peak transient voltage deviation while maintaining the same efficiency profile, compared to an equivalent buck converter. The second part of this thesis introduces a flyback-transformer based buck (FTBB) converter. In this topology, the conventional buck inductor is replaced with the primary winding of the flyback transformer, an extra switch, and a set of small auxiliary switches on the secondary side. During heavy-to-light load transients the inductor current is steered away from the output capacitor to the input port, achieving both energy recycling and savings due to reduced voltage overshoots. The light-to-heavy transient response is improved by reducing the equivalent inductance of the primary transformer winding to its leakage value. Compared to an equivalent buck converter, experiment results on a 6 V-to-1 V, 3 W prototype show three times smaller maximum output voltage deviation during load transients and, for frequently changing loads, about 7% decrease in power losses.

The purpose of this thesis is to introduce a family of interactive Switch Mode Power Supplies (SMPS) for reducing the overall volume of the conventional converter topologies in low-to-medium power (up to 60W) applications. As shown in this thesis, the interaction between power supplies and electronic devices can be incorporated with emerging digital controllers for SMPS, to implement flexible converter topologies. These flexible topologies dynamically change the converter configuration, based on the load requirement, to provide near ideal transient response and/or improved efficiency over a wide range of operating conditions. This interaction relaxes the energy storage requirement for the converter reactive components and results in a low volume implementation. The interaction with the SMPS can be between the electronic load and the power supply or different conversion stages of a multi-stage converter. The effectiveness of the introduced family of SMPS is verified on digitally controlled dc-dc and ac-dc converter topologies.

Modern switch-mode power supplies (SMPS) used for point-of-load (PoL) applications need to meet increasingly stringent requirements on voltage regulation, while minimizing physical volume and optimizing conversion efficiency. The focus of this thesis is the voltage regulation capability of low-power PoL converters during load transients. The main objective is to investigate converter topologies and control techniques that can achieve fast and smooth transient performance without significant penalty in volume and efficiency. The digital control method is used due to its ability to implement sophisticated control algorithms. The first part of this thesis investigates a dual output stages converter, with a small auxiliary output stage connected in parallel with the main output stage. While the main output stage is responsible for steady-state operation and designed to achieve optimum efficiency, the auxiliary stage is activated when a load transient occurs, to help suppress voltage deviation. Experimental results on a 6 V-to-1 V, 3W buck converter shows 35% improvement in peak transient voltage deviation while maintaining the same efficiency profile, compared to an equivalent buck converter. The second part of this thesis introduces a flyback-transformer based buck (FTBB) converter. In this topology, the conventional buck inductor is replaced with the primary winding of the flyback transformer, an extra switch, and a set of small auxiliary switches on the secondary side. During heavy-to-light load transients the inductor current is steered away from the output capacitor to the input port, achieving both energy recycling and savings due to reduced voltage overshoots. The light-to-heavy transient response is improved by reducing the equivalent inductance of the primary transformer winding to its leakage value. Compared to an equivalent buck converter, experiment results on a 6 V-to-1 V, 3 W prototype show three times smaller maximum output voltage deviation during load transients and, for frequently changing loads, about 7% decrease in power losses.

The purpose of this thesis is to introduce a family of interactive Switch Mode Power Supplies (SMPS) for reducing the overall volume of the conventional converter topologies in low-to-medium power (up to 60W) applications. As shown in this thesis, the interaction between power supplies and electronic devices can be incorporated with emerging digital controllers for SMPS, to implement flexible converter topologies. These flexible topologies dynamically change the converter configuration, based on the load requirement, to provide near ideal transient response and/or improved efficiency over a wide range of operating conditions. This interaction relaxes the energy storage requirement for the converter reactive components and results in a low volume implementation. The interaction with the SMPS can be between the electronic load and the power supply or different conversion stages of a multi-stage converter. The effectiveness of the introduced family of SMPS is verified on digitally controlled dc-dc and ac-dc converter topologies.

Práce se zabývá popisem jednotlivých typů zdrojů s důrazem na izolované topologie. Poté je rozebírána nejvhodnější volba pro zdroj na anodické bondování, kde jsou kladeny požadavky na vysoké výstupní napětí s malým proudem. Další část rozebírá problematická místa návrhu a na co je třeba dávat pozor. Poté je proveden vlastní návrh zdroje s popisem optimalizačních kroků. Tento zdroj je odsimulován. Dva rozdílné přístupy k realizaci takového zdroje jsou poté porovnány a nejlepší je vybrán. Je ukázána možnost, jak realizovat bipolární výstup. V poslední části je tento zroj sestaven a proměřeny jeho parametry.

This thesis focuses on the study, implementation and improvement of a digital controller for a power factor correction (PFC) converter. The development of the telecommunications industry and the Internet demands reliable, cost-effective and intelligent power. Nowadays, the telecommunication power systems have output current of up to several kilo amperes, consisting of tens of modules. The high-end server system, which holds over 100 CPUs, consumes tens of kilowatts of power. For mission-critical applications, communication between modules and system controllers is critical for reliability. Information about temperature, current, and the total harmonic distortion (THD) of each module will enable the availability of functions such as dynamic temperature control, fault diagnosis and removal, and adaptive control, and will enhance functions such as current sharing and fault protection. The dominance of analog control at the modular level limits system-module communications. Digital control is well recognized for its communication ability. Digital control will provide the solution to system-module communication for the DC power supply. The PFC converter is an important stage for the distributed power system (DPS). Its controller is among the most complex with its three-loop structure and multiplier/divider. This thesis studies the design method, implementation and cost effectiveness of digital control for both a PFC converter and for an advanced PFC converter. Also discussed is the influence of digital delay on PFC performance. A cost-effective solution that achieves good performance is provided. The effectiveness of the solution is verified by simulation. The three level PFC with range switch is well recognized for its high efficiency. The range switch changes the circuit topology according to the input voltage level. Research literature has discussed the optimal control for both range-switch-off and range-switch-on topologies. Realizing optimal analog control requires a complex structure. Until now optimal control for the three-level PFC with analog control has not been achieved. Another disadvantage of the three-level PFC is the output capacitor voltage imbalance. This thesis proposes an active balancing solution to solve this problem. / Master of Science