Power Supply Design Seminar

Isolating the Control Loop

Topic Categories:
Basic Switching Technology
Specific Power Topologies
Power Supply Control Techniques

Reproduced from
1990 Unitrode Power Supply Design Seminar
SEM700, Topic 2
TI Literature Number: SLUP090

© 1990 Unitrode Corporation

© 2011 Texas Instruments Incorporated

Product Update:
This topic references the TL431. While this TI device
may still be available, the later-generation TL431A may
offer performance enhancements.

Power Seminar topics and online power-

training modules are available at:
power.ti.com/seminars
 Isolating the Control Loop
Bob Mammano

Isolation Requirements face of the board. Clearance denotes the short-

A fact of life for all off-line power supply est distance between two conductive parts as
systems is the requirement for galvanic isola- measured through the air, for example, the
tion from input to output. This isolation is closest spacing of two bare leads as they run
primarily in the interest of safety to insure that from the PC board to the point where they
there will be no shock hazard in using the become insulated. Finally, the Isolation Barrier
equipment, and the requirements have been represents the shortest distance between two
quantized over the years by many agencies conductive parls separated by a dielectric which
throughout the world, most notably VDE and meets the voltage and resistance specifications.
IEC in Europe, and UL in the United States. With an optocoupler, this is the minimum
Examples of some of the more stringent of spacing of conductors within a plastic molded
these specifications are listed in Table 1. Note package. Transformer windings have the addi-
that isolation involves mechanical as well as tional requirement for three separate layers of
electrical specifications, and as new technolo- insulation, any two of which are capable of
gies shrink component sizes, these physical withstanding the required voltage.
spacings can often become limiting factors. For
those unfamiliar with the terminology, the All AC mains connected power supplies
following definitions are offered: must provide this isolation between the input
Creepage is defined as the shortest path be- and output sections' of the supply and, of
tween two conductive parts on opposite sides of course, this is normally accomplished with a
the isolation as measured along the surface of power transformer. At 60 Hertz, this represents
any intervening insulation. The best example of a big, heavy, and costly solution, albeit a simple
Creepage is the separation between two PC one. With switch-mode power systems, the high
board solder eyes as measured along the sur- frequencies make the power transformer much

Table I -- Examples of Safety Standards and Specifications

Requirements for insulation for equipment
Standard
with an operating voltage up to 250 VRMS
Isolation Dielectric Isolation
VDE DIN Creepage Clearance Barrier Strength Resistance
Equipment
IEC [mm] [mm] [mm] [kVrms] [0]
0806 380 Office Machines 8 8 0.5 3.75 7 x 106
0805 435 Data Processing 8 8 - 3.75 7 x 106
6
0804 - Telecommunication 8 8 - 2.50 2 x 10
0860 65 Electr. Household 6 6 0.4 3.0 4 x 106
0113 .204 Industrial Controls 8 8 - 2.50 1 x 106
6
0160 - Power Installations 8 8 - 2.70 1 x 10
6
0832 - Traffic Light Controls 8 8 - 2.50 4x 10
0883 - Alarm Systems 8 8 - 2.50 2 x 106
0831 - EI. Signal Syst. for Railroads 8 8 2.0 2 X 106
0110 General Std. for Electrical Equip. 8 8 2.0 -

Texas Instruments 1 SLUP090

more manageable but a new problem is intro- 3. Isolating the digital signal path. This
duced: the fact that the power has to be means after the analog-to-digital conver-
switched on the input side, but under control sion which takes place in the pulse width
from the output side in order to provide good modulator. Although it is somewhat more
regulation. This implies a second crossing of complex in implementation, the advantage
the isolation boundary in order to feed back is accuracy and stability although if errors
control information, and although this path do occur, they could result in complete
involves only information, rather than power, it loss of control.
must still meet the same isolation require-
ments. While the isolation within the power 4. Isolating the digital power path. While
transformer is not a trivial matter, it is the also offering high accuracy, placing all the
purpose of this discussion to address only the control - including the power switch drive
problems assoeiated with isolating the control - on the secondary side makes the isola-
path. tion task more difficult due to the power
levels and stringent waveform require-
Alternatives for Isolating Control ments. It also carries along the added
Figure 1 shows the block diagram of a basic burden of a separate isolated starting
off-line power converter indicating some of the circuit, or possibly a complete auxiliary
places where a designer might choose to insert power supply, and either of these means
isolation in the control feedback path. Working a third crossing of the isolation boundary.
from output back to input, these options are:
1. Isolating the measurement of the output Before embarking on a more detailed discus-
voltage. While this can be accomplished sion of the above alternatives, mention should
fairly easily, high accuracy is required in be made of an additional choice, and certainly
coupling this large control signal across the simplest one from an isolation standpoint,
the isolation boundary to achieve good which is to not have a feedback path at alL
output regulation. Conversion Without an Overall Con-
2. Isolating the analog error signal. Certainly trol Loop
the most popular approach and several Clearly, the problems of isolating a control
techniques will be discussed in detail. The feedback path are sidestepped neatly by elimi-
requirements for absolute accuracy are nating the feedback. The approach which offers
substantially reduced as it is only the the highest level of performance using this
error difference between the output and technique is shown in Figure 2 where a combi-
the reference which crosses the isolation. nation of voltage feed-forward or current-mode
control, and secondary regulators can give
POWER PATH
. excellent results. This circuit controls the
power stage from the primary side with
JII[
PRIMARY SECONDARY
SIDE SIDE
POWER POWER direct communication. This has the added
CIRCUITS CIRCUITS
benefit of reliable fault protection since
SWITCH
CONTROL
kt DIG ITAL ANALOG
1
T OUTPUT
INFORMATION
input voltage and current levels can readily
be monitored and reacted to with minimum
SIGNAL ERROR
,-----, delay. The control circuit must be either
SWITCH DIGITAL ANALOG powered directly from the line - which would
DRiVE PROCESSOR PROCESSOR
require very low current - or started from
• CONTROL PATH the line and then supplied by a primary-
referenced, low-voltage auxiliary winding
Fig. 1 -- Altemative Isolation Points from the power transformer.

Texas Instruments 2 SLUP090

 A simpler approach to a "no
MAG AMP --0
II-:
overall feedback" converter is
. DC OUTPUT 1 shown in Figure 3. This circuit uses
the same low-voltage, primary-refer-
enced auxiliary winding which was
DC OUTPUT 2 mentioned above as a way of effi-
ciently supplying power to the con-
FEED FORWARD 1----0 trol circuit, but in this case, a non-
DC OUTPUT 3 isolated feedback loop is used to
+V SUPPLY force thePWM controller to regu-
late its own supply voltage. The
ISOLATION
BOUNDARY theory is that if the diode voltage
Fig. 2,- Feedf01ward, No Overall Control Loop drops are matched, and the trans-
former windings well coupled, the
Either a current-mode topology or a voltage isolated output voltage will track this regulated
feed-forward circuit which linearly adjusts the primary-referenced auxiliary voltage. While this
width of the PWM output pulse in response to design may provide acceptable performance in
changes in input voltage will provide a constant low power applications, the problem is that
volt-second product to the primary of the both the above assumptions are weak - particu-
power transformer. For circuit topologies other larly the goal in achieving close coupling be-
than discontinuous flyback, this will achieve a tween windings which may need 3750 VAC
first-order line regulation. Higher accuracy, as isolation.
well as regulation for load changes, is accom- Isolating Feedback Control at the
plished by the secondary regulators which, as Output
shown in Figure 2, can be implemented in An interesting and relatively simple method
several ways. In general, a linear regulator is for isolating the measurement of the output
the simplest approach while a mag amp will be voltage is shown in Figure 4. This circuit uses
the most efficient. a secondary-driven amplitude modulator to
As stated above, a high degree of perfor- transmit the DC output voltage value across an
mance can be achieved with this configuration. isolating pulse transformer to the primary side.
Its main drawback is the potential cost and re- Assuming the transformer is fully reset between
duced efficiency of the additional secondary each pulse, when QJ is turned on, Cc will
regulators - a penalty which accelerates rapidly charge to a value closely approximating the
with increasing load current levels. supply's output voltage, and then hold that
i value - with only a small decay through Rc -
N1 I while QJ is off. While the easiest approach to

l'lira I
I
driving QJ would be to use the supply's switch-
ing frequency from a secondary winding of the
power transformer, there are at least two
limitations: First, Ql will follow the duty cycle
ilSOLATION of the power transformer and it can be seen
BOUNDARY from the waveforms of Figure 4 that the aver-
age value of the peak-detected control voltage,
Vc , will vary with duty cycle. Secondly, the
bandwidth of this system will not be usable
much above one-tenth of the switching frequen-
Fig. 3 -- Primary Control

Texas Instruments 3 SLUP090

 formers, between the PWM output drivers and
+
Vo o-------<r---o the main power switches. This approach, as
Vc illustrated in Figure 5, puts all the control on
the secondary side and with close DC coupling
RC to the outputs, high accuracy and excellent
Cc
protection for the load can readily be provided.
L-_____+-----<o--o The problem with this method is twofold:
First, the transformers which couple the PWM
commands to the power switches handle more
than just information - they must also provide
drive power to the switches, conditioned to
insure reliable operation under all operating
environments. The second complication is that
secondary-side control will normally require an

"'~b=~1I __ LI_
isolated power source, adding a third crossing
of the isolation boundary and the added com-
ponents of this auxiliary bias supply. It is for
these reasons that this approach - while popu-
1----:
ve
• I
Ve
AVO lar in the past - seems more recently to be
relegated to very high power systems which can
_''---_-'-1_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _" _ _ -..~

more readily absorb the added overhead cost,

~ TIME or applications requiring extensive "hand shak-
ing" between the control circuit and output
Fig. 4 -- I'ulse Transfonner / Peak Detector
load-grounded logic.
cy which could unduly restrict a control loop. Before leaving the subject of isolating the
There is also a hard compromise in the value digital power path, there is another technique
of Rc between measurement accuracy and worthy of mention, although primarily for a
negative slew rate. historical perspective. This is the blocking
The severity of these problems can be substan- oscillator circuit shown in Figure 6 configured
as a free-running flyback converter. This topol-
tially reduced by using a separate oscillator to
drive QI with a much higher and constant duty- ogy uses base-current regeneration to turn the
power switch on while turn off is effected by
cycle frequency, but, of course, this is some-
what removed from
the original premise
IL POWER TRANSFORMER

of a simple circuit. AC RECTIFIER I RECTIFIER DC

Isolating the Digi- INPUT AND FILTER I AND FILTER OUTPUT

tal Power Path I

I
This discussion will I
now jump from the r--------------.J
I ~ SWITCH DRIVE
output end of the I TRANSFORMER
control feedback path I
to the input side I
I AND DRIVE
where a traditional L
HOUSEKEEPING 71IS0LAT-IO-N--....J
isolation technique TRANSFORMER BOUNDARY
has been the use of a
transformer, or trans-
Fig. 5 - Secondary Side Control with Isolated Switch Drive

Texas Instruments 4 SLUP090

 V BULK
functions is usually as follows:
I Secondary Side Primary Side
IT1 .---1::+--....-__._--0 Reference Isolator Receiver
I
I YOUT
Error Amplifier Pulse Width Modulator
I Loop Compensation Switch Drivers
I Over-Voltage Protection Starting Circuitry
I Output Current Umit Low·Voltage Sensing
I Isolator Driver Switch Current Umit
I
I While there have probably been many isolat-
I ing mediums proposed for communicating
I between these two sections, the only two which
I --I-~-I
T22_ have demonstrated their practicality through
1'>- CONTROL widespread use are optical couplers and trans-
1'>-
I >-. formers. Although capacitors have also been
I suggested as a possible isolating medium, they
I must be high voltage types and with at least
I ISOLATION two required, this has thus far not been a very
IBOUNDARY
cost effective solution. Therefore, this discus-
Fig. 6 -- Sec. Control, Prj. Blocking Oscillator sion will be limited to optical and magnetic
means of either a pulse transmitted across the techniques. Since the information to be trans-
isolation boundary by the secondary control mitted is a low-level analog control signal, the
circuit, or saturation of the base-drive trans- issues to be addressed, regardless of the medi-
former. While its extreme simplicity made this um, are accuracy, stability, bandwidth, and cost.
circuit attractive for low cost applications, its Optical Isolation
performance was hard to guarantee over a wide The basic optocoupler isolated power supply
range of operation and, with the advent of configuration is shown in Figure 7. An opto-
inexpensive IC control chips, it is now primarily coupler is a remarkable device based upon the
relegated to flyback supplies of less than 100 fact that semiconductor junctions can both emit
Watts. and be affected by photon light energy. By
Isolating the Analog Error Signal passing a current through one junction, light is
This brings us to the most popular and emitted, which then shines on another junction,
widely used technique for isolation - placing the causing that one to conduct a current. These
barrier between the analog and digital portions two junctions need to be on separate chips -
of the feedback path. This means between the both to provide the isolation voltage capability
error amplifier and the pulse width modulator, and because, while silicon makes a good light
and obviously requires the control to be divided detector, emitters are more efficiently made
into two separate circuits - one on
the primary and one on the sec- RECTIFIER
ondary - with 3750 VAC isolation AND FILTER

between them. Since this voltage is

well beyond most IC technologies,
a two-chip control solution is re-
quired, where all the approaches
discussed earlier can, at least con-
ceivably, be done with a single ISOLATION
control IC. The allocation of circuit BOUNDARY

Fig. 7 -- Optocoupler Isolation of Analog Signal

Texas Instruments 5 SLUP090

WHITE OVERMOLD (EPOXY)

obviously determines the efftciency of the

information transfer. Frustratingly, from a
design standpoint, this parameter is not one of
life's universal constants. Some of the variables
which a designer must accommodate are out-
lined below:
1. Absolute value. There was a time when a
CTR of 0.1 (10%) was a pretty good device but
STD.
THICKNESS LEAD BEND manufacturers have made major improvements
THROUGH INSULATION
to the technology over the years to the point
Fig. 8 -- Optocoupler Dome Package
where a CTR of 100% is readily available from
from gallium arsenide. Early optocouplers were most suppliers. The problem is that manufac-
constructed with the two chips facing each turing tolerances still do not yield a tight
other - a significant manufacturing challenge - distribution - the total spread of CTR values
but newer designs are now built with an inter- for a given device type might range from 40%
nal reflective dome as shown in Figure 8. The to 200%. Recognizing that users can't live with
external dimensions are those of the standard that wide of a spread, most manufacturers use
dual-in-line minidip plastic molded IC package, a sorting process to divide their manufacturing
but usually with six, rather than eight leads. It distribution into narrower ranges. For example,
should be noted that while there may be hun- the CNY 17 optocoupler can be bought as
dreds of optocoupler part numbers available, follows:
not all will meet the more stringent isolation
specifications. For example, the standard DIL Part Number Min Typ Max
lead spacing of 0.3 inches means that the CNY 17-1 40% 60% 80%
solder pads on the PC board will not meet the CNY 17-2 63% 100% 125%
8 mm creepage spec unless a slot is cut CNY 17-3 100% 150% 200%
through the board between the input and
output rows of pads. The alternative is to pick Recognizing that these limits are somewhat
an optocoupler with the special 0.4 inch lead arbitrary, it is certainly possible, depending on
spacing indicated with the dashed lines in business considerations, to negotiate a tighter
spec for a higher price. Another fact to con-
Figure 8.
sider is that if everyone were to select the same
On ftrst glance, the optocoupler would range, manufacturers would have to adjust
appear to be an ideal isolating medium and, in selling prices in order to create a market for
fact, its popularity attests to its positive fea- the rest of their distribution.
tures. It is physically a very small device with a
low selling price and it will transmit DC, as 2. Driving current. There are actually two
well as higher frequency information. There factors to consider here. First, the value of
are, however, many characteristics which, if not CTR is a strong function of input current
troublesome, at least need careful consideration through the light emitter. A typical relationship
in the design process to insure a satisfactory
is shown in Figure 9 where it can be seen that
while CTR = 100% for grade range 2 at an
application.
emitter current of 10 rnA, it drops to less than
Optocoupler Design Considerations 50% at 1 rnA. The second factor is that CTR
The single most important parameter deftn- is referenced to input current, when it is usually
ing optocoupler performance is the device's an error voltage that is to be transmitted.
"Current Transfer Ratio", or CTR. This is the Unless a voltage-to-current circuit is added, it
ratio of output current to input current, and must be remembered that the light emitter is

Texas Instruments 6 SLUP090

 103 I I NORMALIZED TO:
TA 25°C
VCE 5V 4 i IF 10mA
VCE 10V
5
~ IF=2dmA TAMS = 25°C
2...-

-----
0
1=
2 I
IF = 10 rnA
....,
« LU
rr: 2. Cl
« I- I :

rr: rr: ::J IF = 5 rnA

a.
-
I
LU (!l
I.l. I-
rr: :J
~ 10 2
I-
Q
o
~ 1 ...J
Cl
I-
I-
zLU 5
«
~
::;:
LU
N
::;
« .1
::;: IF
l
=, mA
0

---- ---
rr: z a:
rr:
::J
Q ~
'" ~
.01
101 ~~-~~~~~~~~
-55 -25 0 25 50 75 100
10~1 2 5 10° 2 5 101 2
AMBIENT TEMPERATURE (OG)
DIODE CURRENT (rnA)
Fig. 1I -- Detector Current Vs. Temperature
Fig. 9 -- CTR Variation vs. LED Current
consideration is that the maximum ambient
~ 2 temperature specified for the vast majority of
o available devices is only lOO°C, precluding
G 1.8
LU their use in military or high temperature envi-
~
!:i 1.6 f-l-+-+-++ttH+-++-+-++++tt-Y---M+
ronments. This limit is primarily a packaging
and business issue, rather than a limitation
~
lE 1.4 HH-+t+il-tttt--H--::;I.o''f-t+ caused by the semiconductors, and there are a
« few suppliers who have offered optocouplers in
:s:rr:
o 1.2 a high temperature, hermetically sealed pack-
IJ..
u: age; however, they are quite expensive.
> 1 ~~~LM~~LL.-LLL~~~~~~ 4. Stability. One of the more signifIcant prob-
1 10 100 1000
lems of early optocouplers was a degradation in
IF, LED FORWARD CURRENT (mA)
CTR which occurred with respect to time. This
Fig. 10 - LED FOIward Current vs. Voltage was not a predictable wear-out mechanism -
like a lamp fIlament, for example - but caused
actually a forward-biased diode with a non- by random crystal defects in the structure of
linear relationship between voltage and current the light emitters. Here also, manufacturers
as shown in Figure 10. Both of the above non- have made great improvements and now most
linearities can be troublesome, fIrst in deter- can claim a shift of less than 1%/l000hr,
mining the actual CTR of a given device and, although few will offer any guarantees. A
secondly, for introducing a non-linearity into typical manufacturer's data is given in Figure
the feedback gain. 12 from which it could be concluded that one
3. Temperature. The temperature characteris- can be 60% confIdent that no more than 5% of
tics of a typical optocoupler are shown in the popUlation will change by more than 10%
Figure 11 which indicates a drop in CTR value in 20,000 hours. Recognizing that this degrada-
of about 20% at both hot and cold temperature tion is accelerated with higher currents through
limits. To this must be added the input diode's the emitter diode, the fact that this data was
T.C. of Figure 10 if the optocoupler is to be taken at 60mA should provide further comfort
driven from a voltage source. One other to the user.

Texas Instruments 7 SLUP090

 VeE 5V current, but then so does the degradation
RL=1kO described above. Another way to increase
110 - TAMB= 250C
bandwidth is to use a cascode detector circuit
IF=60 mA
:,- MEASURING CURRENT = 10 mA as shown in Figure 14.
CONFIDENCE COEFFICIENT
S 60%

-
I :
cr: 100 95%
ts ...... III
50%
........ ....
r--.. III +--0 Your
90 5%

80
10
1
10
2
10
3

TIME (HOURS)
10
4
I
I
...L
.....-
I
-
liN

I
Fig. 12 -- CTR vs. Operating Life I

S. Bandwidth. To be an effective optical detec- Fig. 14 - Increased Optocoupler Bandwidth

tor, the output transistor must have a large with Cascode Detector
area to collect the photon energy. This gives it Regardless of the above concerns, optocoup-
a large collector-to-base capacitance which can lers have been successfully applied in a broad
introduce a pole into the feedback loop in the range of circuits and it should be useful to
range of 1kHz to 40kHz. A Bode plot of the examine some of these configurations.
amplitude and phase response of a typical
optocoupler is shown in Figure 13 but these
Applying Optocouplers
curves can vary considerably from unit to unit. While undoubtedly a large variety of discrete
component circuit configurations have been
IAI AMPLITUDE RESPONSE used with optocouplers, most of these are no
o
1'0.
longer cost effective in comparison to integrat-
-10
ed circuit solutions, which will be the emphasis
!g ·20
-30 :
'" ....
~ ,:
in this discussion .
Before addressing driver circuits for the light
if
-40 1 2 5 1a 2
FREQUENCY
5 100 2 "
kHz 1000 emitter, it's worth mentioning that interfacing
the optocoup]er's detector with the primary-

-
o PHASE RESPONSE
side PWM circuitry can be done with either
w
o ..... common-emitter or common-collector configu-
~ -60 ..... rations as shown in Figure 15. The C-E circuit
ffi -120
C! '" is usually applicable to PWM chips with trans-
-180
1 2 5 10 2 5
"'"'"
1002kHz 1000
conductance error amplifiers, such as the
FREQUENCY UC3524. With a pull-up resistor to set the
detector current, this circuit could go right to
Fig. 13 -- Typical Optocoupler Freq. Response
There also may be significant variability if the the Compensation pin and override the error
amplifier. Problems with this approach are that
operating bias is not well defined. Certainly, as
the loop bandwidth reaches into the kilohertz the collector-base capacitance may severely
region, this pole must be accounted for and limit the bandwidth, and that too much bias
considered in the overall system response current could yield a saturation voltage too
analysis. Bandwidth increases with increasing high to allow the PWM to go to zero.

Texas Instruments 8 SLUP090

 emitter - 300 to 500 kOhms, perhaps. Alterna-
Vc Vc tively, optocoupters can be acquired which have
no base lead, minimizing the noise pickup.
An obvious choice to drive the light emitter
our of an optocoupler is one of the many IC linear
regulator control chips. One of the early choic-
es was the uA723, used as shown in Figure 16.
This very inexpensive circuit includes the error
amplifier and the reference, as well as a rela-
'-'Vvv-~- OUT tively high current driver with enough head-
room to allow RD to set the emitter current.
Some problems with this circuit are the fact
that the uA723 requires at least 9.5 Volts, the
A: C-E 8:G-G
output can only go about 2V lower than the
inverting input, and the error amplifier is
Fig. 15 - Alternative Detector Connections poorly characterized for gain compensation.
One trick that has been used with this circuit
The C-C circuit is more popular but its to accommodate the wide range of possible
output usually needs to be inverted on the CTR values is to shunt RD with a lower resis-
primary side to allow the power supply to start. tance in series with a low-voltage, soft knee
This is because no secondary output voltage Zener diode. This makes RD appear non-linear
means no driving energy to the input of the providing more current to drive low-CTR
optocoupler and therefor no conduction at the optocouplers.
output, or a command of zero PWM if con- A second choice for an optocoupler driver is
nected directly to the modulator. However, the the UC3838 as shown in Figure 17. While this
error amplifier in all common PWM controllers device was designed as a controller for mag
can easily be configured as a low, or unity gain amp switching regulators, it has all the neces-
invertor and is readily driven by the low output sary elements for an optocoupler application
impedance of the emitter of the optocoupler's along with the added benefits of 5 Volt supply
detector. operation, a current source output, and a well
One additional com- 9.5 V MIN
ment with respect to the
detector transistor: It is vo
not necessary to connect SENSE
the base to anything but -J\J\ 1v-..---4----\
R1

this is a high impedance

point which can be quite
noise sensitive. It is impor- R2
H---
Cc I
I
~3V J~~
tant to remember this
when locating the opto-
UA723
coupler within the power
supply. For both noise
considerations, as well to t - - TO
PWM

insure the complete turn-

off of leaky detectors, it is
often advisable to add
resistance from base to Fig. 16 -- Using a wi723 to Drive an Optocoupler

Texas Instruments 9 SLUP090

 available so compensation
SENSE __- . - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . , . - - - ,
VO~5V
can only be effected by
feedback from the output
Rl transistor's collector to the
non-inverting input. Since
the transistor's gain is a
function of its current,
compensation is difficult to
predict and, in fact, there
arc some values of capaci-
tive load for which this
device is unconditionally
unstable.
Another difficulty is that
R2 since the internal reference
is common to the anode,
the optocoupler can only
be driven from the cathode.
Fig. 17 -- Using the UC3838 as an Opta Driver While this is certainly pos-
sible, it can create another
defined error amplifier. In addition, there is a compensation problem in applications as shown
second op amp available to provide some in Figure 19 where the optocoupler is supplied
auxiliary function such as load current sensing from the same voltage source it is monitoring.
or over-voltage protection. While the action of capacitor C with the input
That brings us to a third choice, the TL431, divider impedance can establish a frequency
another device often selected on the basis of break point, one might assume that above this
cost. This part was also designed for another frequency, the gain will roll off to a negligible
function - an adjustable shunt regulator - but it value at high frequencies, but such is not the
includes the required reference, amplifier and case. The reason is shown in Figure 19 where
driver; all contained in a three pin package. the circuit is redrawn to illustrate the negative
The equivalent circuit for the TL431 is shown feedback present in this configuration. Since RD
in Figure 18. Note that the terminal designa- is used to convert the amplifier's output voltage
tions can be somewhat confusing as the pin into a current through the emitter diode, we
called "reference" is normally what would be can write
considered the sense, or programming input.
Vo
While the TL431's three pin configuration
keeps interfacing simple, it also limits versatility
and creates some application problems. Neither Vo
Rl
the op amp's output nor inverting input are
TL431 CATHODE
CATHODE

~
REFQ----j

RC
2,5V
ANODE
ANODE
Fig. 18 - TL431 Adjustable Shunt Regulator Fig. 19 -- Negative Feedback Limits Min. Gain

Texas Instruments 10 SLUP090

 Change in voltage across RD
!lID =
R1

SENSE
But since the change in voltage across RD is
!lVo - (-A)!lVo,
(l+A)!l Vo
then ID =
RD '
and the transconductance gain is
Fig. 21 -- Two Op-Amps for Proper Phasing
. !lID l+A
Gam = -- - -- Of course, it is always possible to replace the
!lVo RD
TL431 with a separate op amp, in which case
As A rolls off to zero at high frequency, the the optocoupler can be ground referenced,
gain goes to l/RD , a finite positive value. eliminating the above negative feedback prob-
vo +5V lem; however, it's not quite that
simple. Starting and phasing con-
C3 siderations require that an increas-
R6
ing sense voltage increase the cur-
rent through the optocoupler. This
R7
R1 means that a single op amp driver
1M
must be used in a non-inverting
configuration, complicating com-
C1 To PWM pensation since the reference diode
470K
220 PF
will be on the inverting input. For-
REF
TL431 tunately, inexpensive dual op amps,
R2 such as the LM358, allow an extra
inverting op amp to be added as in
Figure 21 at minimal cost.
. '" With two op amps, it's a rela-
Fig. 20 - Preferred Compensation Location wIth TL43J tively simple next step to add tran-
One way around this problem is to use a sistor Ql as shown in Figure 22. This provides
separate, or regulated supply to bias the opto- a current-source drive to the optocoupler which
coupler - a simple solution if such a supply eliminates both the effects of supply-voltage
happens to be available. An alternative ap- variation and the opto-diode's logarithmic V-I
proach is to not rely on the driving
stage for loop compensation but place R2
it around the error amplifier on the
primary side as shown in Figure 20. A
small capacitor is still used with the
TL431 to keep ripple and noise from
overdriving that device, while the poles
and zeros to provide system stability
work on the other side of the isolation.
Note that the error amplifier starts with
a DC gain of two to get a full 4V out-
put swing with only 2V from the opto-
transistor. Fig. 22 -- Current Source Optocollpler Drive

Texas Instruments 11 SLUP090

 implementation easier; however,
as the technology has improved, it
--------l r -- is questionable whether this is
I I very cost effective.
I I
I I Transformer Isolation
I I
I I The use of a transformer to
I I provide isolation for the control
I I
_J I signal would seem a natural ap-
I proach as there will already be a
I transformer isolating the power
__ J I path. The problem, of course, is
that the control signal must in-
clude DC information to hold the
power supply's output constant,
and to get DC through a trans-
Fig. 23 -- Two Matched Optocollplers Cancel CTR Changes former requires some form of
carrier modulation. The required circuitry
characteristic, and is thus probably the most
w~uld normally be complex enough to preclude
ideal driving circuit.
~hlS approach for most applications, but an
One final application, where possible varia-
mtegrated circuit has been developed to mini-
tion in optocoupler CTR values would be
mize the complexity and provide a viable, low-
unacceptable, is shown in Figure 23. This ap-
cost solution. This device, the UC3901, is
proach uses two optocoupler devices which are
shown in a typical application in Figure 24. In
matched as closely as possible. One then pro-
addition to the required reference and error
vides the negative feedback to compensate for
amplifier, the UC3901 includes a high-frequen-
changes which occur to them both, making the
cy oscillator whose amplitude is modulated by
loop gain constant. Dual opto devices in a
the output of the error amplifier. The use of
single package are available to make this

POWER AND
PRIMAR1 ~ II
------~POW~~.~=_~-------------------------------------------L==~
SWITCHES

TRANSFORMER r------------------ UC1901 -,

STATUS
TO SUPPLY . OUTPUT VIN
MONITOR 13

TOPWi
CONTROLLER ~ i '<Ill I
RFCOUPLING
TRANSFORMER

Fig. 24 - TIle UC1901 Provides Isolated Feedback Using a Small Signal Trans/onner

Texas Instruments 12 SLUP090

amplitude modulation allows simple diode isolation approach is trivial as there remains
detection on the primary side to recover the several important issues, most notably circuit
control information and interface it to any of complexity and freedom from susceptibility to
the common choices for primary-side PWM noise transients; however, some interesting
controllers. work has been done, and is continuing in this
There are several significant benefits with area.
this approach. First, the use of a high-frequen- The most common generalized approach is
cy carrier - up to 5 mHz - keeps the coupling to have two PWM modulators, one on each
transformer both small and inexpensive, as well side of the isolation. The one on the primary is
as allowing a high bandwidth for the control dominant during start-up or fault conditions,
information. Secondly, the transformer provides but once the output voltage begins to rise, the
a transfer function fixed by the turns ratio, secondary PWM takes command and transmits
eliminating all of the variables associated with switching information back to the primary
optocouplers. Finally, the transformer, as well controller through a pulse transformer. An
as the UC3901 (UC1901) can be obtained early integrated circuit implementation of this
capable of meeting the full military tempera- approach is the two chip set shown in Figure
ture range. 25. The IP1POO primary circuit contained a free
running but synchroruzable oscillator, PWM
Isolating the Digital Signal Path with duty cycle limit, power switch current
The fourth, and last, point in the feedback limit, soft-start and under-voltage lockout, as
control path where we might consider placing well as a pulse transformer interface. The
the isolation is within the digital signal process- IPIPOI secondary circuit included the refer-
ing section of the pulse-width modulator. This ence, error amplifier, current sensing, pulse
infers that all the analog processing is done on width modulator, and transformer interface.
the secondary side so that accuracy and stabili- Because only pulse information is transmitted
ty issues are defined prior to reaching the across the isolation, the transformer can be as
isolation medium. Only digital information simple as a single turn each for the primary
crosses the isolation boundary, a task which can and secondary windings on a small toroidal
be accomplished relatively easily with either
core.
optics or magnetics. That's not to say that this
_____IP_1._P01 SECONDARY IP1 POO PRIMARY
r-------------------,I
I
vee 9---------------, vec~ - I
RiC 0----_-, I I
SNC I
CMPo-----, I
I
SEN OUT

I
I
I
I
I
,I
II I
I
Cil
I
.
I
I,
L-------+GND-------~
1
Fig. 25 - Two-Chip Set Communicates Secondary to Primary by means oJ Pulse TransJonner

Texas Instruments 13 SLUP090

 -----SECONDARY CIRCUIT - - - - - - > - 1 r--;:;c;-----PRIMARY CONTROLLER ---_+_

ERRORAMP~ FIXED
>--""'!---------r:::> OSC
SYNC TO
OUTPUT i 01
IN 02
OSCRAMPD ~: DELAY

CLOCK D '------'
~OSC
RAMP

r-I·--PWM --'+-1''''' DIFFERENTIATOR-'1 r-OISCRIMINATDR .1. SAMPLE & HOLD-----1

SECONDARY-SIDE OSC RAMP ----\c-----:::o=""--'-==--------\c-:-;;;:---EiA OUTPUT

VOLTAGE

SECONDARY-SIDE CLOCK

SIR
PRIMARY-SIDEOSC RAMP ~=\::
- -- - - - - - - - -----INPUTTO PRIMARY
,, PWM COMPARATOR
VOLTAGE SAMPLED

Fig. 26 - New Two-Chip Set Transmits DC Feedback and Clock Sync T71rough Signal Trallsfonner
A more sophisticated approach is currently voltage.
under development at Unitrode to allow the The discriminator on the primary side then
isolation transformer to perform more func- separates out the positive transmitted pulse and
tions than merely regulating the output voltage. uses it to synchronize the primary-side oscilla-
This will also be a two chip set with a pulse tor. It also uses the time difference between
width modulator block on each chip. The positive and negative pulses to define a sample
communication across the isolation boundary point at which time the instantaneous value of
will be with amplitude and polarity sensitive the primary oscillator ramp waveform is held
pulses to transmit frequency synchronization as the control voltage which becomes the input
and regulation control from secondary to to a conventional current-mode pwm stage.
primary simultaneously with under-voltage and With this technique, not only will the overall
fault shutdown indications from primary to regulation be provided by a feedback signal
secondary. derived from the actual load voltage, but the
Figure 26 illustrates the secondary-to prima- switching frequency may also be set by locking
ry control communication scheme. Note that onto a standard referenced to the load side of
only that portion of each circuit directly associ- the isolation.
ated with this communication link is shown in While pulse timing defines the above infor-
the figure. The function of the secondary circuit mation, primary-side logic levels can be simul-
is to generate a fixed-width positive pulse at taneously transmitted to the secondary side by
the start of each clock cycle, and a fixed-width modulating the amplitude of these timing
negative pulse when the PWM comparator pulses. The mechanism for accomplishing this
senses the crossover between the oscillator is shown in Figure 27, which shows this portion
ramp waveform and the error amplifier output of the circuitry on each of the Ie's.

Texas Instruments 14 SLUP090

 02 --.-----.
/
DIFFERENTIATED
DISCRIMINATOR,
BIT 1
TOGGLE FF
EIAPWM 8<
SIGNALS 81T0
LOGIC
~
01 -,-----+--'
BIT0
OUT

....----SECONDARy CIRCUIT----~ r----- PRIMARY CONTROLLER - - - -••

Fig. 27 -- Same as Fig. 26 with Additional Two Logic Level Signals Transmitted from Pd. To Sec.
With a known source impedance in the pulse able Precision Shunt Regulators", August
generation circuit on the secondary, changing 1988 Revision.
the load impedance on the primary will affect [4] Raoji Patel, "The UC1524A PWM Con-
the pulse amplitude back on the secondary trol Circuit Provides New Performance
where it can be sensed and used to provide
Levels For an Old Standard", Unitrode
digital flag information. Because of the toler-
Application Note U-90.
ances associated with this system, the resolution
will only permit the presence or absence of a [5] Rich Valley, "The UCl901 Simplifies the
digital level to be detected, but this can be Problem of Isolated Feedback in Switch-
done separately for the positive and negative ing Regulators", Unitrode Application
transmitted pulses allowing two bits of informa- Note U-94.
tion to be received on the secondary side. For [6] Sayani, White, Nason, and Taylor, "Iso-
example, low input supply voltage and a prima- lated Feedback for Offline Switching
ry fault shutdown. Power Supplies with Primary-Side Con-
With this system, a single signal-level trans- trol", APEC Proceedings, Pages 203-211,
former is used to simultaneously couple four 1988
independent signals, two in each direction,
across a high-voltage isolation boundary - a [7] Bruce Carsten, "Design Tricks, Tech-
substantial and valuable extension of the tech- niques and Tribulations at High Conver-
nology available to implement off-line isolated sion Frequencies", Oltronics Canada, Ltd.
power supplies. [8] P. Greenland and P. Davies, "A Two
Chip Set Achieves Isolation Without
References:
[1] Motorola, Inc, "Optoelectronics Device Compromising Power Supply Perform-
ance", APEC Proceedings, 1987.
Data", 1989 Edition.
[9] Cliff Jamerson, "Personal conversations",
[2] Siemens Components, Inc, "Optoelectron-
NCR Power Systems, Lake Mary, Florida.
ics Data Book", 1990 Edition.
[10] George Harlan, "Personal conversa-
[3] Texas Instruments, Inc, "TL431 Adjust-
tions", Power General Corp, Canton, Mass.

Texas Instruments 15 SLUP090

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