E-BOOK
Best of Power Tips
A collection of insights from our power design experts
Introduction
In 2008, the power-management experts at Texas Authors:
Instruments (TI) launched a series in EDN magazine called
Aki Li
“Power Tips,” focused on common tips and tricks of
Benjamin Genereaux
power-supply design. The articles address specific design
Bosheng Sun
challenges and provide flexibility for designers of power
Brent McDonald
applications.
Brian King
This e-book highlights the 25 most popular Power Tips Desheng Guo
articles from EDN.com. Although this e-book is not an
John Betten
exhaustive collection of all power challenges, it does
John Dorosa
address many of the more common and persistent
Josh Mandelcorn
problems designers face today, such as reaching lower
Pradeep Shenoy
quiescent current and increasing power density.
Richard Yin
If you have questions about the topics covered here, Robert Kollman
submit them to the TI E2E™ design support forums Robert Taylor
Power Management forum. Sheng-Yang Yu
2
Table of Contents
Introduction.......................................................................................................................................... 2
1. Make sure your optocoupler is properly biased............................................................................ 4
2. Designing a DCM flyback converter.............................................................................................. 8
3. Designing a CCM flyback converter............................................................................................ 14
4. Flyback converter design considerations.................................................................................... 19
5. LLC design considerations for audio amplifiers.......................................................................... 22
6. CLLLC vs. DAB for EV onboard chargers .................................................................................. 26
7. Get more boost from your boost converter................................................................................. 34
8. How to improve flyback efficiency with a nondissipative clamp................................................. 38
9. Two simple isolated power options for 8 W or less..................................................................... 41
10. How to reduce the THD of a PFC................................................................................................ 46
11. Load transient testing with high slew rates................................................................................. 52
12. Measure your LLC resonant tank before testing at full operating conditions............................. 55
13. How GaN switch integration enables low THD and high efficiency in PFC................................ 61
14. Using interleaved ground planes to improve noise filtering from isolated power supplies......... 67
15. Snubbing the flyback converter.................................................................................................. 72
16. Isolating a SEPIC......................................................................................................................... 75
17. Compensating for diode drop variations..................................................................................... 79
18. A potential firmware mistake may lead to control instability....................................................... 82
19. Use a thermal camera to assess temperatures in automotive environments ............................ 88
20. How to latch off a power converter that has a hiccup fault response ........................................ 91
21. Think outside the LLC series resonant converter box................................................................. 95
22. Five major trends in power-supply design for servers.............................................................. 100
23. How an upside-down buck offers a topology alternative to the non-isolated flyback ............. 105
24. Adding a single capacitor to improve cross-regulation in
dual-output flyback power supplies.......................................................................................... 108
25. High-frequency resonant converter design considerations, Part 2........................................... 113
