The present disclosure relates to a buck converter.
Conventionally, a power supply circuit referred to as a buck converter is mounted on various types of electronic machines. A buck converter is a step-down direct-current (DC)/DC switching regulator that uses switching of a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) to step down an input voltage and generate the output voltage, and is an asynchronous rectification, non-isolated converter that performs rectification by a diode (for example, Patent document 1).
Herein, it is expected that an output of a power supply circuit can be increased for the cause of recent Internet of Things (IoT) of home appliances equipped with power supply circuits. An insulated converter, that is, a flyback converter, is sometimes used conventionally as a power supply circuit with a high output. However, due to a costly transformer used or due to a larger number of parts, a flyback converter is more disadvantageous in terms of cost.
In contrast, a buck converter is more advantageous in terms of cost as it uses cheap coils or has a smaller number of parts, and is thus used in substitution for the flyback converter. However, in a buck converter, a peak value of a current flowing through a MOSFET is inclined to increase. If a high output is to be achieved, power loss in the MOSFET is then increased. The power loss of the MOSFET is associated with heating, and this may become the main reason that inhibits a high output in a buck converter. Specifically, an output limit of a buck converter is approximately 10 W.
In view of the situation above, it is an object of the disclosure to achieve a high output (for example, approximately 20 W) in a buck converter that is advantageous in terms of cost.
A buck converter of the disclosure is configured as (a first configuration) including: a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET), including a first side connected to an application end of an input voltage; a rectifying element, connected to a second side of the MOSFET by a first connection node; a coil, having a first terminal connected to the first connection node; and an output capacitor, connected to a second terminal of the coil, wherein the MOSFET is a super-junction MOSFET.
The first configuration may also be configured as a second configuration, wherein a switching frequency of the MOSFET is in a range of 20 kHz to 30 kHz, and inductance of the coil is equal to or more than 300 μH (microhenry).
The first or second configuration may also be configured as a third configuration, which further includes: a first resistor, having a first end portion connected to a gate of the MOSFET; a second resistor, having an end connected to a second end portion of the first resistor; and a diode, having an anode connected to the first end portion of the first resistor, and a cathode connected to the second end portion of the first resistor.
Any one of the first to third configurations may also be configured as a fourth configuration, wherein the rectifying element is a fast recovery diode.
The fourth configuration may also be configured as a fifth configuration, which further includes: an input capacitor, connecting to and between the application end of the input voltage and a grounded line, wherein a wiring length between a cathode of the fast recovery diode and the first terminal of the coil is shorter than a wiring length between a second connection node and a third connection node, wherein the second connection node is disposed between the anode of the fast recovery diode and the grounded line, and the third connection node is disposed between the input capacitor and the grounded line.
The fourth or fifth configuration may also be configured as a sixth configuration, which further includes: an input capacitor, connecting to and between the application end of the input voltage and the grounded line, wherein a wiring length between the second side of the MOSFET and the first terminal of the coil is shorter than a wiring length between the second connection node and the third connection node, wherein the second connection node is disposed between the anode of the fast recovery diode and the grounded line, and the third connection node is disposed between the input capacitor and the grounded line.
Any one of the first to sixth configurations may also be configured as a seventh configuration, which further includes a diode, a capacitor and a control integrated circuit (IC), wherein the MOSFET is disposed in the control IC, an anode of the diode is connected to the second terminal of the coil, an cathode of the diode is connected to a first end of the capacitor, a second end of the capacitor is connected to the first terminal of the coil, and a voltage is generated at a node to which the cathode of the diode and the first end of the capacitor are connected as a feedback voltage to be applied to the control IC.
Any one of the first to seventh configurations may also be configured as the following: when the MOSFET is in an off state, a coil current flowing through the coil decreases and reaches 0A (ampere).
According to the disclosure, a high output and reduced power loss are achieved in a buck converter that is more advantageous in terms of cost.
Exemplary embodiments of the disclosure are described with the accompanying reference drawings below.
Issues of a buck converter are first described.
The buck converter 1 includes an input capacitor 2, a control integrated circuit (IC) 3, a fast recovery diode 4, a coil (inductor) 5, an output capacitor 6, a resistor 7, a diode 8 and a capacitor 9. The fast recovery diode 4 is an example of a rectifying element.
One end of the capacitor 2 is connected to a DC voltage, that is, an application end of the input voltage Vin. The other end of the input capacitor 2 is connected to an application end of a ground potential.
The control IC 3 includes a MOSFET 30 that serves as a switching element. The MOSFET 30 is an N-channel MOSFET. A drain of the MOSFET is connected to one end of the capacitor 2. A source of the MOSFET 30 is connected to a cathode of the fast recovery diode 4. Turning on and off of the MOSFET 30 is controlled by applying a gate voltage Vgs (gate/source voltage) to a gate of the MOSFET 30.
A connection node of the source of the MOSFET 30 and the cathode of the fast recovery diode 4 is connected to one terminal of the coil 5. The other terminal of the coil 5 is connected to one end of the output capacitor 6. The other end of the output capacitor 6 and an anode of the fast recovery diode 4 are connected to an application end of the ground potential. One end portion of the resistor 7 for discharging of the output capacitor 6 is connected to one end of the output capacitor 6. The other end portion of the resistor 7 is connected to the application end of the ground potential.
The diode 8 and the capacitor 9 are elements for simulating a feedback of the output voltage Vout generated at one end of the output capacitor 6. Specifically, an anode of the diode 8 is connected to the other terminal of the coil 5. A cathode of the diode 8 is connected to one end of the capacitor 9. The other end of the capacitor 9 is connected to one terminal of the coil 5. A voltage generated at a connection node of the cathode of the diode 8 and one end of the capacitor 9 is used as a feedback voltage to be applied to the control IC 3. The control IC 3 controls the MOSFET 30 according to the feedback voltage, accordingly controlling the output voltage Vout to be fixed. A load that is not shown in the drawing is connected between an application end of the output voltage Vout and the application end of the ground potential.
When the MOSFET 30 is turned on, a current flow from the application end of the input voltage Vin through the MOSFET 30 and the coil 5 to a load side, and a drain current (drain/source current) Ids flowing through the MOSFET 30 and a coil current IL flowing through the coil 5 increase. Accordingly, excitation energy is accumulated at the coil 5. Moreover, the solid arrow in
When the MOSFET 30 is turned off, the drain current Ids does not flow, and the current flows through the fast recovery diode 4 and the coil 5. The coil current IL decreases and excitation energy is released. Moreover, the dotted arrow in
On the other hand,
The flyback converter 10 includes an input capacitor 11, a control IC 12, a capacitor 13, a resistor 14, a diode 15, a transformer 16, a diode 17, an output capacitor 18, a resistor 19, a resistor 20, a diode 21, a capacitor 22, a resistor 23 and a capacitor 24.
One end of the input capacitor 11 is connected to an application end of the input voltage Vin. The other end of the input capacitor 11 is connected to an application end of a ground potential.
The control IC 12 includes a MOSFET 120 as a switching element. The MOSFET 120 is an N-channel MOSFET. The transformer 16 has a primary winding 161 and a secondary winding 162. The application end of the input voltage Vin is connected to one terminal of the primary winding 161. The other terminal of the primary winding 161 is connected to a drain of the MOSFET 120. A source of the MOSFET 120 is connected to the application end of the ground potential.
The capacitor 13, the resistor 14 and the diode 15 are elements forming a buffer circuit. Specifically, one end of the capacitor 13 and one end portion of the resistor 14 are connected to the application end of the input voltage Vin. The other end of the capacitor 13 and the other end portion of the resistor 14 are connected to a cathode of the diode 15. An anode of the diode 15 is connected to the drain of the MOSFET 120.
One terminal of the secondary winding 162 is connected to an anode of the diode 17. A cathode of the diode 17 is connected to one end of the capacitor 18. The other end of the capacitor 18 and the other terminal of the secondary winding 162 are connected to the application end of the ground potential. The output voltage Vout is generated at one end of the output capacitor 18.
The resistors 19 and 20 are voltage dividing resistors for feeding back the output voltage Vout. The diode 21 and the capacitor 22 are elements that generate a power supply voltage of the control IC 12 based on the output voltage Vout. A configuration of connecting the resistor 23 and the capacitor 24 in series is used as a filter for stabilizing the feedback of the output voltage Vout.
As shown in
Moreover, an installation area of the buck converter 1 relative to a substrate is smaller than that of the flyback converter 10.
Thus, the buck converter 1 is more advantageous compared to the flyback converter 10. However, as described below, the buck converter 1 contains a main factor that inhibits a high output.
Herein, the power loss of the MOSFET includes (1) switching loss at turn-on, (2) conduction loss, and (3) switching loss at turn-off.
The drain current Ids at turn-on can be set to 0 by adjusting the inductance of the coil 5, and so the switching loss can be set to almost zero at turn-on.
Moreover, as indicated by the dotted line in
The conduction loss is loss generated when the MOSFET 30 is turned on, and is expressed by the equation below:
Pc=IDs2×Ron×Ton/T (1)
In the equation above, Pc represents the conduction loss, Ron represents an on resistance of the MOSFET 30, Ton represents an on time, and T represents a switching cycle.
If a high output of the buck converter 1 is to be achieved, the conduction loss increases because the peak current Idsp of the drain current Ids becomes higher.
Poff=(⅙)×Vin×Idsp×tf×fsw (2)
In the equation above, Poff represents the switching loss at turn-off, and fsw represents a switching frequency.
If a high output of the buck converter 1 is to be achieved, the switching loss at turn-off increases because the peak current Idsp of the drain current Ids becomes higher.
As described above, if a high output in the buck converter 1 is to be achieved, power loss of the MOSFET 30 increases and heat generation becomes an issue. Herein, from the perspective of equation (1), conduction loss can be inhibited if the on resistance Ro can be reduced. Moreover, from the perspective of equation (2), the switching loss at turn-off can be inhibited if the descending period tf can be shortened, that is, if the switching speed at turn-off can be increased.
Therefore, in the disclosure, a super-junction (SJ) MOSFET is to be used to replace a conventionally used plane MOSFET, as the MOSFET 30 in the buck converter 1. The SJ MOSFET is capable of reducing the on resistance Ron and increasing the switching speed.
The MOSFET 30 includes an n+-type drain layer 32, an n−-type drift layer 33 over the n+-type drain layer 32, a plurality of p-type substrate regions 34 located on an upper surface of the n−-type drift layer 33, and a plurality of n+-type source regions 35 arranged at intervals in an internal side of each of the plurality of p-type substrate regions 34 and on edges of the p-type substrate regions 34. In the example shown in
In addition to the configuration above, the MOSFET 30 further includes a gate insulating layer 36 extended in a manner of covering the entire upper surface of the n−-type drift layer 33 (surfaces of the n-type regions), the channel regions 340 and part of the n+-type source regions 35, and a gate electrode 37 located over the gate insulating layer 36. The gate electrode 37 has a planar structure and fully covers the channel regions 340. Upper and side surfaces of the electrode 37 are covered by an interlayer insulating film 38.
The MOSFET 30 further includes a drain electrode 31 electrically connected to the n+-type drain layer 32, and a source electrode 39 electrically connected to the n+-type source regions 35. The source electrode 39 and the gate electrode 37 are insulated by the interlayer insulating film 38. Contact vias 40 are defined at the interlayer insulating film 38, and the source electrode 39 is in contact with the p-type substrate regions 34 and the n+-type source regions 35 through the contact vias 40.
Moreover, the MOSFET 30 includes a plurality of p-type row regions 41, which extend from the plurality of p-type substrate regions 34 in the n−-type drift layer 33 in a longitudinal direction in the drawing toward the drain layer 32. The p-type regions 41 are constituent elements forming a super-junction structure, and are sometimes referred to as guide posts.
In a conventional plane MOSFET, if a withstand voltage is to be increased, the on resistance increases due to an increased thickness of the drift layer. In the MOSFET 30 having a super-junction structure, with a PN junction of the plurality of p-type row regions 41 horizontally arranged and the n−-type drift layer 33 extending longitudinally, the thickness of the drift layer can be decreased even if the withstand voltage is increased, and so a reduced on resistance and a reduced amount of charge at the gate can still be achieved.
As shown in
As described above, although the switching loss can be reduced by increasing the switching speed, there is a possibility of increased noise.
If the switching speed is increased, the power loss is inhibited, and so the temperature condition is cleared, with however the noise condition remaining. On the other hand, if the switching speed is reduced, the noise condition is cleared, with however the temperature condition remaining because of the increased power loss.
Hence, it is considered that the temperature condition be cleared by increasing the switching speed, and that the noise generated can be handled by a noise countermeasure part. However, this countermeasure faces an issue of increase cost.
Therefore, a countermeasure that prioritizes clearing of the noise condition by reducing the switching speed while reducing the switching loss at turn-on is discussed. Herein, it is known from equation (2) associated with the power loss that, the descending period tf becomes longer by reducing the switching speed; however, if a switching frequency fsw is reduced, the switching loss can be inhibited.
Referring to
As such, if the switching frequency fsw is reduced, ripples of the coil current IL (that is, the peak value of the drain current Ids) are increased. Thus, if the inductance of the coil is increased, as shown by the solid line on the right of
An increased inductance could become the main reason of increased cost and an increased installation area. However, compared to the cost and installation area of the transformer included in the flyback converter, the cost and the installation area are nonetheless inhibited.
If the switching frequency is increased, the cost can be reduced by decreasing the inductance and miniaturizing the coil, achieving a tendency of an increased switching frequency. However, as described in the disclosure above, if the tendency is taken in reverse and the switching frequency is reduced, both conditions of noise and power loss can be cleared.
Moreover, in the disclosure, as shown in
When the MOSFET 30 is turned off, as shown by a current path indicated by the solid line in
Moreover, in the disclosure, a noise countermeasure for a layout of the substrate is performed when the buck converter 1 is mounted on the substrate as described below.
As shown in
Moreover, as shown in
Implementation details of the disclosure are as described in the embodiments above. However, various modifications made be made to the embodiments without departing from the scope of the subject of the disclosure.
For example, the disclosure may also be applied to a synchronous rectification buck converter that uses a synchronous rectifier transistor as a rectifying element to replace the fast recovery diode 4.
The disclosure is applicable to a buck converter mounted on, for example, home appliances.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2020-208250 | Dec 2020 | JP | national |