Reducing Emissions in DC-DC

Switched Mode Power Supplies

Scott Mee Johnson Controls

Jim Teune Gentex

Outline

Overview of SMPS designs and basic emissions issues

Root Causes of Emissions
Design Strategies for Reducing Emissions
Schematic Design
Component Selection
Layout Considerations

Trade-offs between EMI and other requirements

Hardware Demonstration

Power Supplies
Linear vs. switching
Linear supplies
Typically used when the input and output voltage levels are similar
Large voltage drops and high current output cause low efficiency
Low efficiency = higher heat
Quiet from RF emissions point of view
Switching supplies
Preferred for applications where efficiency is important
Buck step down i.e. 12Volts to 5Volts logic level
Boost step up i.e. 12Volts to 40Volts LED lighting level
Sudden changes in voltage & current cause EMC problems
Circuit uses a switch, inductor and diode to transfer energy from input to output

Buck SMPS

Vout = VIN x D, where D = tON/(tON + tOFF)

Buck SMPS

Charge phase

Buck SMPS

Discharge phase

Buck Circuit Voltages and Currents

Switch State

Iind

Imax
Imin

Voltage

Vin
Vout
Vind
0 volts

Boost SMPS

Vout = VIN / (1 D), where D = tON/(tON + tOFF)

Boost SMPS

Charge phase

Boost SMPS

Discharge phase

10

Boost Circuit Switching Voltages and Currents

Switch State

Iind
Idiode

Imax
Imin

Vout
Voltage Level

Vin
Vind
0 volts

Timing

11

Trapezoidal Periodic Signals

Fourier Series

x(t ) = c0 + 2 c n cos(n 0 t + c n )
n =1

Fourier Coefficients

1
1

sin n 0 sin n 0 r

2
2
e jn0 ( + r ) 2 ,
cn = A
1
1
T
n 0
n 0 r
2
2

c0 = A , r = f
T
12

f =r

Bandwidth of Periodic Waveforms

Bounds on frequency spectrum

Above the 2nd break point, r

the harmonics drop off at a rate of 40dB/decade.
To be conservative we might choose a
point, 3 times this second breakpoint
this is approximately

Bandwidth of a
periodic signal

13

BW = 1

r
Hz

Noise Sources in SMPS

Switching characteristics
dv/dt & di/dt
Fundamental frequency
Harmonic series

Resonances
Step response to the RLC network Ringing

Secondary effects
Power surges at input
Ripple on power bus
Ripple on system wiring
Output ripple
Magnetic fields

14

BUCK Supply
Emissions
Investigation

15

Emissions Investigation
BUCK SMPS Circuit

16

Emissions Investigation
BUCK Voltage Measurements

Voltage at Input to SMPS

Switch Output Voltage

17

Emissions Investigation
BUCK Voltage Measurements Zoom
Voltage at Input to SMPS

Switch Output Voltage

18

Emissions Investigation
Narrow Band vs. Broadband

Frequency domain

Time domain

19

Improvement came from

- Front-end filtering (L/C filter)
- Slew rate controls
- Layout improvements

Emissions Investigation
Success Stories 70kHz SMPS

Conducted Emissions (150kHz 2MHz)

Before Techniques Applied

After Techniques Applied

20

Emissions Investigation
Success Stories 150kHz SMPS (Low band)

Improvement came from

- Front-end filtering (L/C filter)
- Layout improvements

Conducted Emissions (150kHz 2MHz)

Before Techniques Applied

After Techniques Applied

21

Emissions Investigation
Success Stories 150kHz SMPS (High band)

Improvement came from

- Diode snubber
- Diode switching changes
- Layout improvements

CISPR 25 Radiated Emissions (25MHz 200MHz)

Before Techniques Applied

After Techniques Applied

22

BOOST Supply
Emissions
Investigation

23

Emissions Investigation
Boost Supply Case Study
12volt input & 34volt output
+34 V

+12 V

24

Emissions Investigation
Boost Supply current loop when switch is closed
Red = current flow to load, Blue = return current
+34 V

+12 V

25

Emissions Investigation
Boost Supply current loop when switch is open
Red = current flow to load, Blue = return current
+34 V

+12 V

26

Emissions Investigation
Boost Supply Radiated Emissions 50MHz 180MHz BL ON

123MHz

27

161MHz

Emissions Investigation
Boost Supply Radiated Emissions 50MHz 180MHz BL OFF

123MHz

28

161MHz

Emissions Investigation
Boost Supply Measurement points

i1

+12 V

V1

29

+34 V

Emissions Investigation
Boost Supply Measurement Setup
Bench measurement setup overview

LeCroy 6GHz 40GS/s

Voltage probe
500MHz 1.8pf
Current probe Langer
HF magnetic field probe

30

Emissions Investigation
Boost Supply Measurement Setup
Bench measurement setup overview

Voltage probe used

to show when switch
is open/closed

Current probe used

to see shape of
current flowing
through the diode

31

Emissions Investigation
Boost Supply Voltage Measurement Results
Overview of switching waveforms

V1

i1

32

Emissions Investigation
Boost Supply Voltage Measurement Results
Switch turns from off to on

V1

i1

33

Emissions Investigation
Boost Supply Voltage Measurement Results
Switch turns from on to off

V1

i1

34

Emissions Investigation
Boost Supply Radiated Emissions 50MHz 180MHz BL ON

V1

123MHz

161MHz

i1

35

Emissions Investigation
Boost Supply Diode Current No changes / Baseline
123MHz ringing corresponds to 123MHz emissions

123MHz

36

Johnson Controls

Emissions Investigation
Boost Supply Diode Current 1nf cap across diode CR6401
77 MHz ringing corresponds to 77MHz emissions

77MHz

37

Johnson Controls

Schematic Design

38

Schematic Design
Buck topology
12V input

Slew rate control

Snubber
Output
filter
+5 V

5V output
+12 V

Snubber

Input filtering

Soft-start capacitor

Spread spectrum

39

Schematic Design
Boost topology
Front end Pi filter

Slew rate control

40

Johnson Controls

Snubber Output
cap

Schematic Design
Snubber Calculations
FRinging := 126MHz
CSnubber := 1500pF
FTuned := 40MHz

CParasitic = 168.114pF

LParasitic = 9.491 10

The optimum resistor to damp the overshoot is twice the inductive

impedance at the new resonant frequency. This is calculated by the
following equation:

RSnubber := 2 2 FTuned LParasitic

RSnubber = 4.771
9

CSnubber = 1.5 10

Schematic Design
Combination Selection

Component
Selection

43

Component Behavior
Capacitors, Resistors, Inductances, Ferrites
All passive components have resistance, capacitance and inductance
Component behavior is different at low and high frequencies

44

Component Behavior
Ceramic Capacitors
^

-20 dB/decade

ESL - Equivalent Series Inductance (L)

20 dB/decade

Capacitor has low impedance for a

narrow range of frequencies

Capacitive

Inductive (ESL)
f

f res =

1
L lead C

45

Component Behavior
Electrolytic Capacitors Example 150uf 10V
Power supply output filter

BUCK 5V
150uf

What does this

mean???
46

Component Behavior
Electrolytic Capacitors Example 150uf 10V
Capacitance measurement over frequency
HP4284A Precision LCR Meter & 16047D adapter used

47

Component Behavior
Electrolytic Capacitors Example 150uf 10V
EPN_1214353_SUNCON150uF20%10V
180

160

140

Capacitance(uF)

120

100

80
Capacitance(uF)
60

No real capacitance after a few kHz

40

LongWaveBand

20

MediumWaveBand

0
10

100

1000

10000

20

Frequency(Hz)
48

100000

1000000

Component Behavior
Inductors
^

Z
0 dB/decade
-20 dB/decade

20 dB/decade

Rpar

Inductance resonates with parasitic

capacitance between windings of the
inductor

Resistive

Rpar
2 L

Saturation can happen

1
fres =
2 LC par

49

Inductive

Capacitive

1
2 LCpar

Component Behavior
Inductors
Resonant Frequency

Saturation Curves

10uH goes
resonant at
30MHz
10uH has only
~180ohms
impedance at
300kHz

Our typical
use cases are
borderline
saturation

50

Component Behavior
Inductors
Low profile is very important!
LQH44 Murata

1.1mm

Vishay IHLP-2020BZ

2 mm

Vishay IHLP-4040DZ

4 mm

EPCOS B82472P6

EPCOS B82477P4

4.5mm

8.5mm
Too tall!!

Shorter package flux lines stay closer to the board lower emissions

51

Component Behavior
Resistor
^

Z
0 dB/decade
R
-20 dB/decade
20 dB/decade

Resistors are not purely resistive as

frequency increases
Resistive

Capacitive

1
2 RCpar

f res =

1
L lead C par

52

Inductive

1
2 Llead C par

Component Behavior
Diodes
Schottkey
Soft start
Slow start
Fast start
Efficiency vs. heat vs. di/dt for emissions

I-V graph of a real diode

53

Component Behavior
Ferrite bead
Do not trust the curves you see in
the datasheet!!!
Be sure to understand the circuit
where the ferrite will be used
Impedance over frequency
graphs change with DC bias

54

Component Behavior
Ferrite bead
Take care when choosing a ferrite by its rating
Ratings are typically done at 100MHz

3DevicesHaving
1000ohms@100MHz

55

Layout Design

56

Buck Power Supply

Layout Component Placement

INPUT

Controller
Diode
Snubber
OUTPUT

INDUCTOR

57

Buck Power Supply

Layout Copper Definitions

GND

INPUT

PWR
Controller
Diode
Snubber
OUTPUT

INDUCTOR

58

Buck Power Supply

Layout Switch Closed
Start by drawing the path of
the current
Ensure area of loop formed
by current is kept small
Keep high di/dt components
on same side of PCB
Allow common ground
between input cap, regulator,
diode, snubber and output cap
Keep snubber next to diode
Inductor GND: to fill or not to
fill? (efficiency vs. EMC)

59

Buck Power Supply

Layout Switch Open
Dont forget there are two
switch states!

60

Boost Power Supply

Schematic

Boost Power Supply

Component Placement
Same as BUCK supply with
these additional items:
Keep switch node away from
surrounding copper areas
Make switch node as small
as possible
Inductor orientation/wiring
makes a difference (node
connected to winding on
inside or outside)

Boost Power Supply

PCB Layout
TOP

Noisy switch node

Ground node
All other copper

Keep switch node small

Maintain spacing to surrounding copper areas

BOTTOM

1.72pF

Boost Power Supply

PCB Layout
Noisy loop
Ground loop

Avoid SMPS loop

within a GND loop
provide continuous
ground fill

L1 = 50nH
L2 = 270nH
K = 0.45 (represents poor coupling between loops; where 1 = perfect coupling)

Lm = 52nH mutual inductance between loops

dI/dt

2 loops

Design Trade-Offs

65

Recommendations for a Balanced Design

Thermal constraints prefer faster switching, larger copper areas and spacing
EMC constraints prefer slow switching, smaller copper and spacing

0 spacing

spacing

Thermal Constraints
EMC Constraints

Common Solution

66

Recommended Reading

Power Electronics Technology trade magazine (www.powerelectronics.com)

http://www.ridleyengineering.com/

National Semiconductor Application Note 1149, Layout Guidelines for Switching

Power Supplies.

Texas Instruments Application Report SLPA005, Reducing Ringing Through

PCB Layout Techniques

Demystifying Switching Power Supplies by Raymond A. Mack

67

Thank you for your attention

Questions?

68

Hardware Demonstration

69

Hardware Demonstration

Hardware Demonstration Buck SMPS

Base unit (no EMC components)

Fully populated PCB