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Ten Key Points in the Development of Switching Power Supply Module Technology

Article Source：Kinri Energy | Author：Kinri Energy | Issuing Time：2024.04.15
The switching power supply module has always been a very popular technology in the electronics industry, and its development trend is a problem that everyone must always pay attention to, otherwise one will not be able to keep up with the pace of technological development if not careful. Below are a few key points in the development of switching power supply module technology.



Key point one: Performance of power semiconductor devices

For example, in 1998 Infineon launched a cold MOSFET, which adopts a Super Junction structure, also known as a Super Junction power MOSFET. The working voltage ranges from 600V to 800V, and the on state resistance is almost reduced by an order of magnitude, while still maintaining the characteristic of fast switching speed. It is a promising high-frequency power semiconductor electronic device.

When IGBT first appeared, the rated voltage and current were only 600V and 25A, and for a long time, the voltage withstand level was limited to 1200V to 1700V. After a long period of exploration, research and improvement, the rated voltage and current of IGBT have reached 3300V/1200A and 4500V/1800A respectively, and the single chip withstand voltage of high-voltage IGBT has reached 6500V. The maximum operating frequency of a general IGBT is between 20kHz and 40kHz. IGBTs manufactured using new technologies based on a through (PT) structure can operate at 150kHz (hard switching) and 300kHz (soft switching). The technological progress of IGBT is actually a compromise between on state voltage drop, fast switching, and high voltage withstand capability. With different processes and structural forms, IGBTs have developed into several types in their 20-year history, including through (PT) type, non through (NPT) type, soft through (SPT) type, trench type, and electric field cutoff (FS) type.

Silicon carbide (SiC) is an ideal material for power semiconductor device chips. Its advantages include bandgap, high operating temperature (up to 600 ℃), good thermal stability, low on state resistance, good thermal conductivity, minimal leakage current, and high PN junction voltage resistance. It is conducive to manufacturing high-frequency and high-power semiconductor electronic components that are resistant to high temperatures.

Key point two: Power density of switching power supply module

Improving the power density of switching power supply modules, making them miniaturized and lightweight, is a goal that people are constantly striving to pursue. The miniaturization and weight reduction of power supplies are particularly important for portable electronic devices. The specific method to miniaturize the switching power supply module is high-frequency. In order to achieve high power density in the power supply, it is necessary to increase the operating frequency of the PWM converter and reduce the volume and weight of energy storage components in the circuit.

Alternatively, piezoelectric transformers can be used, which can enable high-frequency power converters to achieve light, small, thin, and high power density. Piezoelectric transformers utilize the unique voltage vibration, transformation, and vibration voltage transformation properties of piezoelectric ceramic materials to transfer energy. Their equivalent circuit is like a series parallel resonant circuit, which is one of the research hotspots in the field of power transformation.

In order to reduce the volume and weight of power electronic equipment, it is necessary to improve the performance of capacitors, increase energy density, and research and develop new types of capacitors suitable for power electronics and modular power supply systems, requiring large capacitance, small equivalent series resistance ESR, and small volume.

Key point three: High frequency magnetic and synchronous rectification technology

A large number of magnetic components are used in power systems, and the materials, structures, and performance of high-frequency magnetic components are different from those of power frequency magnetic components. There are many issues that need to be studied. The magnetic materials used for high-frequency magnetic components have requirements such as low loss, good heat dissipation performance, and superior magnetic properties. Magnetic materials suitable for megahertz frequencies have attracted people's attention, and nanocrystalline soft magnetic materials have also been developed and applied. After high-frequency, in order to improve the efficiency of switching power supply modules, it is necessary to develop and apply soft switching technology. For soft switching converters with low voltage and high current output, the further measure to improve their efficiency is to reduce the on state loss of the switch. For example, synchronous rectification SR technology, which uses power MOSFETs reversed as switching diodes for rectification instead of Schottky diodes (SBDs), can reduce transistor voltage drop and improve circuit efficiency.

Key point four: Distributed power supply structure

Distributed power supply systems are suitable for use as power sources for large workstations composed of ultra high speed integrated circuits, large digital electronic switching systems, etc. Its advantages are that it can achieve modularization of DC-DC converter components, easy to achieve N+1 power redundancy, easy to expand load capacity, and can reduce the current and voltage drop on the 48V bus. Easy to achieve uniform heat distribution, facilitate heat dissipation, design, good transient response, and online replacement of failed modules. There are now two types of distributed power systems: two-level structure and three-level structure.

Key point five: PFC converter

Due to the presence of rectifier components and filtering capacitors at the input end of the AC-DC conversion circuit, the power factor of electronic devices powered by single-phase rectifier power supply on the grid side (AC input end) is only 0.6-0.65 when subjected to sinusoidal voltage input. By using PFC (Power Factor Correction) converters, the power factor on the grid side can be increased to 0.95-0.99, and the input current THD is less than 10%. It not only controls harmonic pollution in the power grid, but also improves the overall efficiency of the power supply. This technology is called active power factor correction (APFC), and single-phase APFC was developed earlier domestically and internationally, and the technology is relatively mature. There are already many types of topology and control strategies for three-phase APFC, but further research and development are needed.

Generally, high power factor AC-DC switching power supply modules consist of a two-stage topology. For low-power AC-DC switching power supply modules, adopting a two-stage topology structure has overall low efficiency and high cost. If the input power factor is not particularly high, the PFC converter and the subsequent DC-DC converter are combined into a topology to form a single-stage high power factor AC-DC switching power supply module. With only one main switching transistor, the power factor can be corrected to 0.8 or above and the output DC voltage can be adjusted. This topology structure is called a single transistor single stage or S4PFC converter.

Key point six: Voltage regulator module VRM

Voltage regulator module is a type of low voltage, high current output DC-DC converter module that provides power to microprocessors. The speed and efficiency of data processing systems are increasing day by day. In order to reduce the electric field strength and power consumption of microprocessor ICs, it is necessary to lower the logic voltage. The logic voltage of the new generation of microprocessors has been reduced to 1V, and the current is as high as 50A to 100A. Therefore, VRM has requirements such as low output voltage, large output current, high current change rate, and fast response.

Key point seven: Fully digital control

The control of the power supply has shifted from analog control to mixed analog and digital control, and has entered the stage of full digital control. Full digital control is a new development trend that has been applied in many power conversion devices, but in the past, digital control was less used in DC-DC converters. In recent years, high-performance fully digital control chips for power supplies have been developed, and the cost has also been reduced to a relatively reasonable level. Several companies in Europe and America have developed and manufactured digital control chips and software for switch converters. The advantage of fully digital control is that digital signals can calibrate smaller quantities compared to mixed analog signals, and the chip price is also lower. Accurate digital correction can be performed for current detection errors, and voltage detection is also more accurate, enabling fast and flexible control design.

Key point eight: Electromagnetic compatibility

The electromagnetic compatibility EMC problem of high-frequency switching power supply modules has its particularity. The di/dt and dv/dt generated by power semiconductor switching tubes during the switching process cause strong conducted electromagnetic interference and harmonic interference. Some situations can also cause strong electromagnetic field (usually near-field) radiation, which not only seriously pollutes the surrounding electromagnetic environment, causes electromagnetic interference to nearby electrical equipment, but may also endanger the safety of nearby operators. At the same time, the control circuit inside power electronic circuits (such as switch converters) must also be able to withstand the EMI generated by switch actions and the interference of electromagnetic noise in the application site. The above characteristics, combined with the specific difficulties in EMI measurement, pose many cutting-edge scientific issues in the field of electromagnetic compatibility in power electronics that need to be studied. In recent years, research results have shown that the electromagnetic noise sources in switching converters mainly come from the voltage and current changes generated by the switching action of the main switching device. The faster the change speed, the greater the electromagnetic noise.

Key point nine: Design and testing techniques

Modeling, simulation, and CAD are new design tools. To simulate a power supply system, the first step is to establish a simulation model, including power electronic devices, converter circuits, digital and analog control circuits, as well as magnetic components and magnetic field distribution models. The thermal model and EMC model of the switching tube should also be considered. There are significant differences among various models, and the development direction of modeling is digital analog hybrid modeling, hybrid hierarchical modeling, and combining various models into a unified multi-level model.

The CAD of modular power supply system includes main circuit and control circuit design, component selection, parameter optimization, magnetic design, thermal design, EMI design and printed circuit board design, estimation, computer-aided synthesis and optimization design, etc. Using simulation based expert systems for power system CAD can optimize the performance of the designed system, reduce design and manufacturing costs, and perform manufacturability analysis, which is one of the development directions of simulation and CAD technology. In addition, the development, research, and application of technologies such as thermal testing and EMI testing for power systems should also be vigorously developed.

Key point ten: System integration technology

The manufacturing characteristics of power supply equipment include a large number of non-standard components, high labor intensity, long design cycles, and high costs. However, users require power supply products produced by power supply manufacturers to be more practical, lightweight, and cost-effective. These situations put enormous pressure on modular power supply manufacturers, and there is an urgent need to carry out research and development of highly integrated power supply modules to achieve the goals of standardization, modularity, manufacturability, large-scale production, and cost reduction of power supply products. In fact, in the development process of power integration technology, it has gone through stages such as modularization of power semiconductor devices, integration of power and control circuits, and integration of passive components (including magnetic integration technology). In recent years, the development direction has been to integrate low-power power supply systems on a single chip, which can make power products more compact, smaller in size, and reduce lead length, thereby reducing parasitic parameters. On this basis, integration can be achieved, where all components, along with control and protection, are integrated into one module.
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