CONSUMER REGULATORS SWITCHING ELECTRONICS

Frequency Compensation in Switching Regulator Design

Part 2: Feedback path compensation
In part one of this two-part series, the forward path of a switching converter was considered. In this second and final part, the feedback path is considered as the loop is closed and the overall circuit is compensated. By Nigel Smith, Business Development Manager, Portable Power, Texas Instruments

nce the gain and phase response of the forward path is known, the error amplifier response can be designed. The main aims of frequency compensation are to ensure: (a) an adequate phase margin (typically >45); and (b) an adequate gain margin (typically >10dB). In addition, the loop gain should pass through unity with a slope of -20dB/decade. Before the frequency compensation can be designed, a suitable crossover frequency fc must be chosen. Switching converters with high crossover frequencies respond more quickly to changing operating conditions, and are therefore generally preferred; however, sampling theory limits the maximum crossover frequency that can be used. In practice fc typically lies between one tenth and one sixth fsw, however, if the error amplifiers open-loop gain is insufficient at this frequency, fc may have to be further reduced. Having selected the desired crossover frequency, the gain, phase and slope of the forward path at fc can be obtained from its Bode plot. The required gain, phase and slope of the compensated error amplifier at fc can now easily be obtained by comparing the two. www.powersystemsdesign.com

Three types of compensation scheme are commonly-used, known as Type-I, Type-II and Type-III (see Figure 1). Type-I is not commonly used in switching regulator circuits and will not be discussed here. Type-II compensation exhibits a pole at the origin (to achieve high DC gain) plus an additional zero and pole. The

resulting frequency response contains a flat area between the zero and the pole. Type-II compensation is generally used in applications where the output filter exhibits a single-pole roll-off at the cross-over frequency. The desired -20dB/decade roll-off at fc is achieved by ensuring that cross-over occurs somewhere in the flat part of the error amplifiers response.

Figure 1. Commonly Used Compensation Circuits and Their Response. 33

SWITCHING REGULATORS

SWITCHING REGULATORS

Table 1. Phase Change through a Type-II Compensation Circuit.

high frequencies and a slope of +20dB/decade in the middle of the frequency range of interest. Type-III compensation is typically used to compensate circuits where the output filter exhibits a double-pole at the cross-over frequency. This is done by ensuring that cross-over occurs midway up the error amplifiers +20dB/decade slope; the combined effect of the error amplifier and output filter slopes is the desired -20dB/decade response. The relative position of the poles and zeros in the compensation circuit determines the overall phase boost occurring at fc. Thus, by placing the poles and zeros at suitable frequencies, the desired phase margin can be achieved. There are a number of ways to approach this. One way is to consider the position of the low frequency zero(s) and high frequency pole(s) using two factors K1 and K2, as follows:

Table 2. Phase Change through a Type-III Compensation Circuit.

Figure 2. System Bode Plots. A general procedure for compensating a switching converter can now be simplified to the following: Generate the forward-path Bode plots. Place the compensation circuits zero(s) approximately one octave below the output filters break frequency, and calculate the value of K1. This approach is relatively conservative, but avoids the possibility of conditional stability by ensuring that phase stays well above 0 below fc. Determine the necessary error amplifier gain at fc and calculate the required error amplifier gain at the zero(s). Calculate the maximum phase lag through the compensation circuit and, using Table 2 or 3, and calculate the minimum value of K2 achieving this phase lag. Calculate the frequency of the compensation circuits pole(s) using. Calculate the individual component values in the compensation circuit required to achieve this response. 35 Figure 2 shows typical Bode plots for the forward path, error amplifier and overall response of switching converter using Type-III compensation. Each engineer has his own preferred approach toward frequency compensation, and in practice some iteration will usually be necessary, however, the approach described above provides a good starting point for inexperienced engineers to build a stable circuit with adequate performance. www.ti.com

By considering the relative values of K1 and K2, the phase boost at fc can easily be determined from Tables 1 and 2. The gain of a Type-II compensation circuit at fc is equal to the gain AV at the zero. Type-III compensation has a gain in dB at fc given by: G = AV1 + 20log(K1) Type-III compensation contains two zeros and two poles in addition to a pole 34 at the origin. The resulting response contains an area of increased gain at where AV1 is the gain at the second zero in dB. October 2007 Select a suitable cross-over frequency. Use the rule-of-thumb that fc should lie somewhere between one tenth and one sixth the switching frequency, but may need to be reduced if the error amplifiers open-loop gain at this frequency is insufficient. Determine the forward-path gain and phase at the crossover frequency. From the slope of the forward-path gain at fc, determine whether Type-II or Type-III compensation is required. If the forward path slope at fc is -20dB/decade, then Type-II compensation should be used; if the slope is -40dB/decade, then Type-III is necessary. www.powersystemsdesign.com

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