Author: Hua Zhou

Publisher:

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 155

ISBN-13:

With the increasing demand for small and cost efficient DC/DC converters, the power converters are expected to operate with high efficiency. Magnetics components design is one of the biggest challenges in achieving the higher power density and higher efficiency due to the significant portion of magnetics components volume in the whole power system. At the same time, most of the experimental phenomena are related to the magnetics components. So, good magnetics components design is one of the key issues to implement low voltage high current DC/DC converter. Planar technology has many advantages. It has low profile construction, low leakage inductance and inter-winding capacitance, excellent repeatability of parasitic properties, cost efficiency, great reliability, and excellent thermal characteristics. On the other side, however, planar technology also has some disadvantages. Although it improves thermal performance, the planar format increases footprint area. The fact that windings can be placed closer in planar technology to reduce leakage inductance also often has an unwanted effect of increasing parasitic capacitances. In this dissertation, the planar magnetics designs for high current low voltage applications are thoroughly investigated and one CAD design methodology based on FEA numerical analysis is proposed. Because the frequency dependant parasitic parameters of magnetics components are included in the circuit model, the whole circuit analysis is more accurate. When it is implemented correctly, integrated magnetics technique can produce a significant reduction in the magnetic core content number and it can also result in cost efficient designs with less weight and smaller volume. These will increase the whole converter's power density and power efficiency. For high output current and low output voltage applications, half bridge in primary and current doublers in secondary are proved to be a very good solution. Based on this topology, four different integrated magnetics structures are analyzed and compared with each other. One unified model is introduced and implemented in the circuit analysis. A new integrated magnetics component core shape is proposed. All simulation and experimental results verify the integrated magnetics design. There are several new magnetics components applications shown in the dissertation. Active transient voltage compensator is a good solution to the challenging high slew rate load current transient requirement of VRM. The transformer works as an extra voltage source. During the transient periods, the transformer injects or absorbs the extra transient to or from the circuit. A peak current mode controlled integrated magnetics structure is proposed in the dissertation. Two transformers and two inductors are integrated in one core. It can force the two input capacitors of half bridge topology to have the same voltage potential and solve the voltage unbalance issue. The proposed integrated magnetics structure is simple compared with other methods implementing the current mode control to half bridge topology. Circuit analysis, simulation and experimental results verify the feasibility of these applications.