DESIGN OF A SWITCHING VOLTAGE REGULATOR

9-24 V, SWITCHING BUCK CONVERTER (POWER STAGE) (5V Output)

KEYNOTES:

CIRCUIT OPERATION: POWER STAGE

Regulator design is done assuming that the regulator will spend most of its time in continuous
current mode, in which current continuously flows through the inductor.

When the high side switch is ON (MOSFET in the circuit design)., the current in the inductor
increases, storing energy in the inductance while also supplying current to the load;

When the high side switch is OFF, the inductor current decreases, while the inductor continues
to supply current to the load.

The output capacitor buffers the current variation so that the load sees a nearly constant output
voltage.

Buffer concept - The interposed buffer amplifier prevents the second circuit from
loading the first circuit unacceptably and interfering with its desired operation.

For the circuit design, the output capacitor simply helps with the problem of varying
current. So that is why we can be able to see a nearly constant output voltage.

When operating in continuous current mode, the output of the regulator, Vout, is nearly directly
proportional to the duty cycle, d, roughly as,
Eqn. 1
Vout = d Vin

So d = Vout/Vin

5
𝐷=
24
𝑑 = 0.2833333

This ripple current is maximum at 50% duty cycle (where Vout ≈ Vin /2), and is given by,

Eqn. 4
Ipp = Vin / (4 L F)
Ipp - peak to peak ripple current
There is a minimum load current necessary to preserve a continuous current through the
inductor. That current is one half of the peak-to-peak inductor ripple current. So long as the load
current is greater than that value, the inductor current continues throughout the entire PWM
waveform. In that case, the output voltage is simply proportional to the product of the duty cycle
and the input voltage d = vout/vin. Regulator operation is said to be in continuous current
mode.

However, if the load current falls below that level, the inductor current drops to zero at some
point during the OFF time of the high side switch, and the regulator is then said to be
in discontinuous current mode.

While in continuous mode the output voltage depends primarily on the input voltage and
duty cycle

in discontinuous mode it also depends on the output current and the absolute ON time (or
operating frequency), as shown in the following equation.

DESIGN APPROACH/ DIAGRAM FLOW:

Triangle Wave Generator – an input to the PWM comparator

ERROR Amp - An error amplifier is essentially what its name says, that is, it amplifies an error
signal. This a reference signal and the input signal.

PWM Generator – Will take s input from the triangle wave generator +DC output
form the error amp. This will give an output of PWM.

POWER STAGE - includes the inductor, output capacitors, that is necessary for the
continuous current mode and discontinuous current mode for voltage regulation.

THE DESIGN OF THE CONTROLLER:

We need to take note the min and max switching frequency of the PWM generator:

It will be the controller for the MOSFET.

The triangular wave generator is confirmed to have up to 21 KHz frequency at min

of 9V and max of 24 V.

The typical switching frequency for a buck regulator is at Fsw = 20 KHz to 50 KHz

For our calculations we selected 21 KHz.

Reasons: 470 uH is locally available. It can provide us 21 KHz frequency;

Its pros: larger inductance will reduce the output ripple voltage.

Operating frequency and filter cut-off frequency

The control system is stable so long as the output filter cut-off frequency is not too large. In
general, to assure stability, the closed-loop unity gain bandwidth (also called the closed loop cross-
over frequency on some datasheets) should be limited to one-sixth or less of the switching
frequency.

If controller IC’s was used, we could have just looked upon the datasheets to look on
the frequency range.
But we are prohibited to use certain IC’s.

We then designed our own PWM generator to feed switching signal to turn on and
turn off the MOSFET.

By simulation: it is confirmed to work in the range of 3-5Khz.

The filter cut-off frequency parameter can also be used to obtain capacitor and
inductor values. But we will not be focusing on that parameter since there are
alternatives in the way of design.

How to specify the inductor

Properties important for inductor selection are:

inductance (L)

equivalent series resistance (RL)

its maximum current carrying capability (Imax)

its saturation current (Isat)

There is a trade-off among these properties

 PROS: a large inductance

will reduce the output voltage ripple.
CONS: Slow Regulator transient response and an increased POWER LOSS due to increased
ESR. (Equivalent Series Resistance.)
 a small inductance
PROS: will improve the transient response and reduce its power loss.
CONS: increase the output voltage ripple

The minimum required inductance is determined from the allowable ripple current.

Generally, in continuous current mode the peak-to-peak ripple current, Ipp, should be kept to less
than 30% of the average current, I.

Equation to be used:

For example, for input voltages up to 28 V and a maximum output current of 5 A, at a switching
frequency of 500 KHz the inductance must be greater than 9.33 μH. At a switching frequency of
260 KHz the inductance must be greater than 18 μH

L = Vin / ( 1.2 F I )
Where L: inductance
Vin: max input voltage
F – switching frequency
I – max output current

For the design:

𝑳 = 𝑽𝒊𝒏 / ( 𝟏. 𝟐 𝑭 𝑰 )
𝑳 = 𝟑𝟐/ ( 𝟏. 𝟐 (𝟓𝒌𝑯𝒛) (𝟐 𝑨 )
L = 2.67 mH

More keynotes on the selection of inductor:

 At greater frequency, or if we were to decrease the maximum allowed voltage, we
could use proportionally smaller inductors.
 A larger inductor can be used, which by virtue of its lesser ripple current eases
requirements on capacitor selection, but its maximum value is subject to size, weight,
and ESR limitations.

But we only have a 33uH readily available in nearby electronics shops.

We will then use a 33uH inductor with 5 A max rating .

CONS: increased output voltage ripple

We have few ways to counter it:

Ripple voltage is further decreased by operating at lower input voltages, using a
larger inductance, or by paralleling multiple identical capacitors for lower overall ESR.

 Since greater capacitance often comes with greater bulk, expense, and ESR, which
results in greater output ripple voltage., we chose the third option to counter the effect of
increased output voltage ripple.

Input capacitor ripple voltage

Working voltage rating

Like the output capacitor, the voltage rating of the input capacitor should be about 30% greater
than the maximum supply voltage, and de-Rated appropriately for elevated temperature.

For the design , we used 50V input capacitor.

32(0.30) = 9.2 + 32 = 41.2, 50 V rating is good to go.

Specifying the flyback diode

The diode must be specified to handle the required voltage, current, and power.

 Voltage rating: When the high-side MOSFET switch is ON, the diode is reversed biased by
the input voltage. You should choose a reverse voltage rating at least 30% greater than
the maximum input voltage.
  Current rating: When the high-side MOSFET switch turns ON, the current through the
inductor continues to flow, but it now flows through the diode, forward biasing it. The
average diode current is ( 1 - d ) I. You should choose a diode that can handle the worst
case load current at the expected duty cycle.
 Power rating: The overall efficiency of the switching supply is degraded by the power lost
in the diode. To minimize that power, you should minimize the forward bias voltage by
using a Schottky diode. Make sure that the power rating of the diode is greater than the
expected average power, ( 1 - d ) I VD, and that its temperature rise is not too great.

For the design 1N5822 meets these conditions: specified on app note

Regulator efficiency
The average current drawn from Vin is,
Eqn. 24
Iin = d I

and the average input power is,

Eqn. 25
Pin = Vin Iin = d Vin I

where d is the duty cycle and I is the load current.