Troubleshooting Switching Power Converters
A Hands-on Guide

The senior engineer's "bag of tricks," on power supplies made available in the form of an easy-to-read book!

Sanjaya Maniktala (Author)

9780750684217

Hardback, published 23 October 2007

320 pages, Approx. 140 illustrations
23.4 x 19 x 2.4 cm, 0.78 kg

Power Supply design is all about detail. And a large part of that detail lies in the practical domain, largely because of the typically small number of microseconds of switching periods involved, and the even smaller tens of nanoseconds of switch transition times --- all these, in effect accentuating various "second-order" effects, that eventually end up playing prime havoc with "normal" expectations of how the circuit should behave. So not unsurprisingly, even after reading several books, most readers still find themselves no closer to the ultimate goal of designing an actual power supply. Sooner or later, all engineers start realizing the hard fact that designing a switching power supply isn't the trivial task it once seemed to be. But even after years of successfully mastering the underlying theory, the ultimate goal of creating a cost-effective, reliable and commercially viable power supply may still remain a distant dream, since success ultimately hinges on experience. That is, in fact, what clearly differentiates a senior and seasoned power supply engineer from the others --- the ability to navigate and surmount a veritable minefield of tricky issues that can only be learned the hard way, by actual hands-on experience on the job. This book presents practical knowledge the author acquired rather painfully, while working "in the trenches" for several years in major engineering companies scattered across several continents. This is intended to be the mythical senior engineer's "bag of tricks," finally made available in the form of an easy-to-read book on your shelf. This book will make life for the ambitious power supply engineer much simpler --- besides reducing significantly, the rigorous requirement of having to be a senior engineer's protégé for years on end, just to gain a small measure of real success in this field.

The practical relationship between efficiency and duty cycle
Understanding datasheets and selecting the right components
Power IC bench evaluation and Selection
Proper PCB layout Practices
Practical buck converters
The Forward Converter
Practical boost converters
The PFC boost pre-regulator
Practical buck-boost converters
The off-line Flyback converter
Bench setup and grounding issues
Lab Instrumentation
General Measurements and Troubleshooting Techniques
Specific Troubleshooting Scenarios: High Output ripple and noise, Poor Load transient response, Poor Output voltage regulation, Start-up problems, Unwanted and Desirable Jitter, Alternate Cycle Instabilities, Loop compensation issues, Catastrophic Blow-ups, Output foldback or shutdown, Improperly set Current limit issues, Short circuit, Over-voltage, Short-term and Long-term Thermal failures, Mysterious System Shutdowns, Magnetic saturation failures, Safety issues, Troubleshooting EMI, Line surge test failures, ESD related failures, Acoustic noise issues and techniques to circumvent, Mechanical failures, Diagnosing Low efficiency, Poor reliability and Stress testing, Vibration Testing, Burn-in/HAST/HALT/Overstress/DRT Tests, Design for Manufacturability issues
Sample Component Datasheets
Choosing the Right Inductor for your Application
5 years of reported problems
Reference Tables and Graphs for Quick Design and Validation.

Subject Areas: Electronic devices & materials [TJFD], Electronics engineering [TJF], Electrical engineering [THR], Energy technology & engineering [TH]