AN1513

Application note
VIPower: 30 W SMPS using VIPer50A-E
Introduction
In a growing consumer market, cost effective solutions with good performances and
reliability able to meet energy saving international or local standards (Blue Angel) are
needed.
STMicroelectronics has, among its wide products portfolio, the VIPer product family offering
excellent solutions with all features to design SMPS suitable for consumer applications.
Thanks to the VIPower Technology, these devices combine on the same silicon chip a stateof-the-art PWM control circuit along with an optimized high voltage avalanche rugged
Vertical Power MOSFET.
The benefits obtained using these devices are:

Fewer components compared to a discrete solution

Less space on PCB

Simpler design phase

Automatic burst mode operation in standby for energy savings

Cost effective solution for SMPS

This document describes the results obtained from an off-line SMPS designed with
VIPer50A-E. It has been designed for European mains, providing 30 W on two outputs.
The main target of this application is total power consumption less than 1 W (Blue Angel
Norm) in standby mode delivering an output power of 400 mW.

September 2007

Rev 2

1/13
www.st.com

Contents

AN1513

Contents
1

Schematic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Standby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Full load test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Load step . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Short circuit protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Overvoltage protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Thermal test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Revision history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

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AN1513

List of tables

List of tables
Table 1.
Table 2.
Table 3.
Table 4.
Table 5.
Table 6.
Table 7.
Table 8.

Electrical specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Standby measurements at 65 mA on output 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Standby measurements at 65 mA on output 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Full load measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Overvoltage measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Thermal measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Transformer specification and construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Document revision history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

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List of figures

AN1513

List of figures
Figure 1.
Figure 2.
Figure 3.
Figure 4.
Figure 5.
Figure 6.
Figure 7.
Figure 8.
Figure 9.

4/13

Electrical schematic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Adjustment for frequency reduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Drain current at full load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Voltage current at full load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Load transient (Vout1, Vout2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Load transient (Vcomp, VDD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Short circuit (Vout1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Short circuit (Vout2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Transformer cross section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

AN1513

Schematic

Schematic
The power supply topology is a discontinuous current mode flyback converter, designed with
secondary feedback, optocoupler and TL431C. The output voltage regulation is performed
on the 6.5 V, so the output voltage 10 V can change according to the load applied on both
outputs.
To keep the drain voltage at a safe level and to meet the standby power specification, the
clamper used is a Transil 1.5KE220A instead of a classic R-C-D circuit. While the R-C-D
circuit dissipates energy in any load condition, the Transil dissipates energy only when the
drain voltage spike reaches its breakdown voltage. This consideration is important in order
to keep low consumption (<1 W) during standby operation mode.
A Zener diode is also connected to pin Comp for short circuit protection. This diode clamps
the voltage on pin Comp under the maximum value (4.5 V), reducing the maximum power
delivered by the SMPS.
During short circuit due to the short working time, the VDD voltage drops below the
undervoltage lockout threshold and the VIPer starts working in hiccup mode. Even if the
peak output current is higher than the nominal one, thanks to the on/off cycles, the average
current flowing in the shorted output components is kept under control at a safe value
avoiding diodes failure and any other damage to the circuit.
The output rectifiers are Schottky diodes for better efficiency thanks to their lower forward
voltage drop and negligible switching losses.
The output capacitors are low ESR type to minimize the output ripple and to manage the
RMS output ripple current.
Table 1.

Electrical specifications
Parameter

Value

Input voltage

European standard 230Vac15%

Output voltage 1

6,5 V3% at 2.5 A

Output voltage 2

10 V8% at 1.5 A

Standby consumption

<1 W

Efficiency

>80%

Max working ambient temperature

60C

5/13

Standby

AN1513

Standby
The first test performed is the measure of the power consumption during standby operation
mode as the main target of this application is consumption lower than 1 W. For better
accuracy, because the power level is very low, the power supply has been tested with a dc
voltage source.
Table 2.

Standby measurements at 65 mA on output 1

Vin

Iin

Vout1 at 65 mA

Vout2 at 0 mA

Pout

Pin

Efficiency

Switching
frequency

Vdc

mA

Vdc

Vdc

KHz

276

3.33

6.51

16.6

0.42

0.92

46

BURST

325

3.02

6.51

17.5

0.42

0.98

43

BURST

374

2.67

6.51

18.2

0.42

1.0

42

BURST

R6
6K8 1%

22K

10

R3
470R

IC3
TL431C

C15

R4
1K0

150nF

R5

C11

C12

2200uF-16V YXF 2200uF-16V YXF

STPS745F

D6

C6
2n2-Y2

6
C4
1nF

SOURCE

C14
22nF

COMP

DRAIN

D7

2.2nF

C13

22nF

C9
R1
15K

MOLEX

230Vac15%

C1
100nF

F1
FUSE 2A - 5*20
JP1

BZX79-4V3

VDD

OSC

R2
18R

VIPer50A-E

100nF

IC1

3
3

C2

IC2
TCDT1102G

MOUNTED ON HEAT SINK

100uF-50V YXF

C10

1N4148
2,2uH

D4
STTA106

D5
L2

47uF-400V

C5

D1
DF06M
4

L1
B82732- 27mH

4
1

D2
1.5KE220A

C3
1nF

6/13

R7
4K22 1%

RTN

+6.5V

11-12

STPS8H100CF

T1
010150W-C MAGNETICA

MOUNTED ON HEAT SINK

C7

C8

1000uF-25V YXF 1000uF-25V YXF

13-14

D3

MOUNTED ON HEAT SINK

RTN

+10V

Electrical schematic

Figure 1.

AN1513

Standby
The VIPer50A-E is designed to work in burst mode automatically when the power delivered
to the load becomes very low. The burst frequency and its duty-cycle depend on the
transformer parameters and the power delivered. The burst mode takes place when the
power transferred during the minimum on time is greater than the power required by the
load. This should increase the output voltage, but instead the control loop reacts by missing
some cycles. It is important to point out that during this working mode, the output voltage is
always perfectly under control. The result is a working mode where the effective duty-cycle
is much lower than the minimum under normal operation.
To further decrease the consumption during standby operation an additional test has been
done. Of course the burst mode has efficiency proportional to its working duty-cycle and to
work or not in burst mode is also dependent on the primary inductance of the transformer.
Sometimes it is difficult to optimize the primary inductance of the transformer and obtain an
efficient burst. The result can be just a few cycles missed and most of the pulses are
present at switching frequency. It can be an advantage to work at a lower fixed frequency,
giving up the burst operation mode. The network Q1, R8R10 decreases the frequency
sinking current from R1 (timing resistor) when pin Comp (5) is lower than 1.6 V. In this way
the charging current of C13 (timing capacitor) decreases and according to the law
Equation 1
VT = C
-------------I

the frequency starts to reduce until the minimum frequency is at standby load. In steady
state condition at full load the switching frequency has been set to around 70 KHz, while in
standby it is around 30 KHz.
Table 3.

Standby measurements at 65 mA on output 1

Vin

Iin

Vout1 at 65 mA

Vout2 at 0 mA

Pout

Pin

Efficiency

Switching
frequency

Vdc

mA

Vdc

Vdc

KHz

276

2.98

6.51

19.5

0.42

0.82

53

30

325

2.69

6.51

19.6

0.42

0.87

48

29

374

2.48

6.51

19.8

0.42

0.93

45

28

7/13

Full load test

AN1513

Full load test

The parameters checked at full load have been the efficiency and main working parameters
of the VIPer for system reliability. The minimum voltage has been set at 240Vdc considering
the minimum voltage ripple on the bulk capacitor when the power supply is connected to the
ac mains.
The drain voltage spike reaches its maximum value at full load and maximum input voltage.
This spike is caused at turn-off by the energy stored in the primary leakage inductance of
the transformer during the Ton. This is the reason why it is recommended to design the
power transformer with a primary leakage inductance as low as possible. In addition a good
coupling between primary and secondaries improves total regulation, especially in SMPS
with more than one output.
Adjustment for frequency reduction

R1
15K

R2
18R

C9

R8
68K

Figure 2.

VDD

DRAIN

22nF

IC1

R10
Q1

OSC

18K

C13

VIPer50A-E
COMP

SOURCE

2.2nF
BC546

R9
15K

D7

C14
22nF

BZX79-4V3

Figure 3.

Drain current at full load

Figure 4.

Voltage current at full load

The maximum peak voltage measured on the drain is 642 V, thanks to the clamp
1.5KE220A. This value guarantees a reliable operation of VIPer with a good margin with
respect to the maximum BVDSS, which is 700 V. The VIPer is an avalanche rugged device
able to withstand a momentary energy peak caused by voltage greater than 700 V.

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AN1513

Load step
The SMPS meets the specification with efficiency better than 80% at any input voltage
value, as shown in Table 4.
Table 4.

Full load measurements

Full load

Vin

Iin

Vdc

mA

Vdc

240

160

325
374

Vout1 at 2.5 A Vout2 at 1.5 A

Pout

Pin

Efficiency

Vdc

6.50

10.26

31.6

38.4

82.3

118

6.50

10.25

31.6

38.3

82.5

102

6.50

10.25

31.6

38.1

82.9

Load step
This SMPS has been designed to operate under two conditions: standby and full load. In
Figure 5 and Figure 6 show the outputs voltages during load steps from standby and full
load and vice versa. CHA is the resampling of Vout1 highlighting that no undershoot or
overshoot is present during load transient. The same test has been done to show the
behavior of the voltage on pins VDD and Comp.

Figure 5.

Load transient (Vout1, Vout2)

Figure 6.

Load transient (Vcomp, VDD)

9/13

Short circuit protection

AN1513

Short circuit protection

The SMPS is protected against short circuit on both outputs. The short circuit test has been
done with an active load for the complete input voltage range. As shown in Figure 7 and
Figure 8, taken at worst case at 374 Vdc, during short circuit on output1 or output 2, the
SMPS works in hiccup mode keeping the mean output current at a safe value for the
rectifiers, respectively at 3.3 A for output 1 and 2.2 A for output 2. Also the drain voltage
remains at a safe level during short circuit. To achieve these results a Zener diode has been
connected between pin Comp and Source of the VIPer. This Zener clamps the voltage on
pin Comp, limiting the maximum primary peak current. During short circuit the auxiliary
voltage is low because it is proportional to the output voltage. VDD drops under the low
threshold (8 V) blocking the VIPer and beginning the start up cycle. When C12 is charged at
11 V, the VIPer turns on again. It works as long as C12 is discharged to 8 V because the
auxiliary voltage, thanks to the reduced duty-cycle, is not capable of supplying the VIPer.

Figure 7.

Short circuit (Vout1)

Overvoltage protection

Figure 8.

Short circuit (Vout2)

Thanks to the VDD regulation capability, this SMPS is protected against secondary feedback
failure. If the secondary feedback loses control, the voltages increase. As the auxiliary
voltage is proportional to the outputs, VDD increases up to 13 V, which is the typical
regulation value for VIPer50A-E, so the VIPer takes control avoiding any damage to the
output capacitors and rectifiers. Table 5 gives the measurements in standby and at full load
with R6 removed from the board to simulate secondary feedback failure.
Table 5.

10/13

Overvoltage measurements

Operation mode

Vout1

Vout2

Standby

9.5V

22.5 V

Full load

7.2V

11.2 V

AN1513

Thermal test

Thermal test
For system reliability it is important to keep device temperature at a safe level, considering
the maximum ambient temperature especially when the board is inside a chassis. In Table 6
shows the temperatures measured on the SMPS after 4 hours of warm-up at full load at
nominal input voltage 230Vac: the results are compatible with robust design rules.
Table 6.

Thermal measurements

Table 7.

Measure point

Temperature (C)

Ambient

25

VIPer50A-E

47

STPS8H100F

53

STPS745

58

1.5KE220A

84

STTA106

55

DFO6M

52

T1 Ferrite

53

Transformer specification and construction

Parameter
Primary inductance

Value
670 H 8%

58 TURNS

Winding output1

4 TURNS

Winding output2

6 TURNS

Auxiliary winding

6 TURNS

Primary leakage inductance

Figure 9.

12 H

1.8% of Lp

Core

EPCOS ETD29-N67

Code

B66358-G500-X67

Transformer cross section

11/13

Conclusion

AN1513

Conclusion
The main specification requirements of this application have been reached and thanks to
the VIPer features, it also has been demonstrated that a quite difficult task such as attaining
very low power consumption in standby is easily achievable.

Revision history
Table 8.

12/13

Document revision history

Date

Revision

Changes

04-Jan-2005

First issue

27-Sep-2007

The document has been reformatted

VIPer50A becomes VIPer50A-E

AN1513

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