Three key issues to watch out for in the digital control of power electronics. We discuss and offer solutions. More information is available in the report http://info.elmgdigitalpower.com/digital-control-of-power-electronics

1. Three Key Issues to Watch out
for in the Digital Control of
Power Electronics
Your Digital Power Future – Roadblocks to Avoid

2. Digital Control of Power Electronics
Everyone is going digital – is it the right way forward?
There are specific advantages that digital control of power electronics provides when compared to
traditional analogue control. These include:
• Flexibility (being the main and key advantage)
• Configurability
• Re-tuning the loop for component variation such as Electrolytic capacitor freeze out at low
temperatures
• Management of the non-linearity of the converter
• Self measurement of the loop response in closed and open loop
• The ability to tune the switching times precisely to minimize the power loss and maximize the
efficiency

3. Three Key Issues
1. Numeric precision
• The number of bits in analogue to digital converters (ADC) can mean:
• Increased cost
• Limited output control
• Multiplications for internal calculations of filters reduce precision signals, potentially leading
to the digital filter failing to operate on small inputs.

4. Three Key Issues
2. Timer precision
• Pulse width modulator (PWM) or variable frequency/period oscillator (VFO/VPO) operates
from timers with a set time resolution from the clock. That time is quantized.
• The period or duty of the oscillation or modulator cannot vary continuously as it can for its
analogue equivalent.

5. Three Key Issues
3. Power converter behavior
• Commonly, going to digital control requires a new power converter development as opposed
to swapping analogue control for digital leaving the converter the same. This is because
reductions are required of:
• Power losses
• Converter volume
• Converter losses

6. Free Report
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