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Small-signal analysis of the phase-shifted PWM converter

Article  in  IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics · February 1992

DOI: 10.1109/63.124585 · Source: IEEE Xplore

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128 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 7, NO. 1 , JANUARY 1992

Small-Signal Analysis of the Phase-Shifted PWM

Converter
Vlatko VlatkoviC, Juan A. SabatC, Raymond B. Ridley, Fred C. Lee, Fellow, IEEE, and
BO H. Cho, Member, IEEE

Abstract-The snecific circuit effects in the phase-shifted 11. OPERATION OF THE PS-PWM CONVERTER
pulse-width-modulated(PS-PWM) converter and their impact
on the converter dynamics are analyzed. The small-signal model To achieve ZVS, the two legs of the bridge are operated
is derived incorporating the effects of phase-shift control and with a phase shift. This operation allows a resonant dis-
the utilization of transformer leakage inductance and power charge of the output capacitances of the MOSFET’s, and
FET junction capacitances to achieve zero-voltage resonant subsequently, forces the conduction of each MOSFET’s
switching. The paper explains the differences in the dynamic antiparallel diode prior to the conduction of the MOS-
characteristics of the PS-PWM converter and its PWM coun-
terpart. Model predictions are confirmed by experimental mea- FET. Because the operation of the circuit has been de-
surements. scribed in detail [ l]-[5],only the circuit operation is em-
phasized, which is significant for development of the
I. INTRODUCTION small-signal model. Fig. 1 shows the converter topology
and the waveforms for the current Z and voltage VABin the
I N recent years, the phase-shifted pulse-width-modu-
lated (PS-PWM) converter has found many applications
due to its distinct characteristics [1]-[4].This topology
primary and the voltage across the secondary of the power
transformer V,. In examining these waveforms, it should
permits all switching devices to operate under zero-volt- be noted that the leakage inductance Llk does not have to
age switching (ZVS) by using circuit parasitics such as be minimized for the proper operation of the converter.
leakage inductance and power FET junction capacitance In fact, the load range at which the converter operates
to achieve resonant switching. The ZVS allows operation with ZVS increases with the leakage inductance. How-
with much reduced switching losses and stresses, and ever, the large leakage inductance dictates the slope of the
eliminates the need for primary snubbers. It enables high current when voltage is applied to the primary (t2 or t 6 ) .
switching frequency operation for improved power den- This finite slope reduces the duty cycle of the secondary
sity with good cqnversion efficiency. The circuit appears voltage DeKand has a significant impact on the dynamic
similar to a conventional PWM buck topology, but its characteristics of the converter.
small-signal prqperties are significantly different from The duty cycle of the secondary voltage can be ex-
those of the PWW buck converter’s. This is due to the pressed as
phase-shift operatipn and the presence of a large leakage
inductance in the p&mary of the transformer.
In this paper, the small-signal analysis of the PS-PWM
converter is performed by modeling the effects introduced where D is the duty cycle of the primary voltage set by
the control, and A D is the loss of duty cycle due to the
by the phase-shift operation and the use of the transformer
finite slope of the rising and falling edges of the primary
leakage inductance to resonate with the junction capaci-
tances of the power FET’s to achieve ZVS. A new small- current. Examining Fig. 1, A D can be expressed as [5]
signal model is developed by ’modifying the small-signal
circuit model of its P W Y counterpart [6].The transfer
functions df the power stage are compared to the corre-
sponding transfer functions of its PWM counterpart to Llk
show the significant differences between them. Experi-
mental results are presented to verify the accuracy of the
model.

Manuscript received July 6, 1990; revised February 14, 1991. This work
was supported by the International Business Machines Co., Kingston NY
12401, and by the Virginia Center for Innovative Technology, Technology where n is the transformer turns ratio, n = N s / N p , Vi, and
Development Center for Power Electronics. VOutare input and output voltages, respectively, T, is the
The authors are with the Bradley Department of Electrical Engineering,
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061. switching period, Z, is the output filter inductor current,
IEEE Log Number 9105013. and L is the output filter inductance.

0885-8993/92$03.00 0 1992 IEEE

 ’
VLATKOVIC e1 a / . : SMALL-SIGNAL ANALYSIS 129

f,, &,Din, and d to Jeff.These effects can be incorporated

into the small-signal circuit model of the PWM buck con-
D4
verter (Fig. 4 ) to obtain the model for the PS-PWM con-
B
verter.

D2
IV. SPECIFICCIRCUIT EFFECTS
A. Duty Cycle Modulation Due to the Change of the
Llk
Filter Inductor Current
Fig. 2 illustrates the effect of duty cycle modulation
due to the change of the filter inductor current. When the
steady-state operation (solid lines) is perturbed by an in-
L crease of the filter inductor current by the amount iL, the
primary current will follow the dashed line and reach the
reflected filter inductor current at a later time than it would
in the steady-state operation. This will cause a reduction
of the duty cycle of U,.
The additional delay in increase of the secondary volt-
age due to iL can be calculated using Fig. 3 as follows:
* Llk
At = 2niL - (4)
Vi,
The change of de, due to this effect, denoted as di,is

Deff (Tsn)
/

or

where Rd = 4n2Llkf,.The negative sign shows that there

Fig. 1 . PS-PWM converter: Scheme and circuit waveforms. will be a reduction in de, if the filter inductor current is
increased. This effect is equivalent to a current feedback.
It will be shown shortly that it will introduce additional
111. METHODOF ANALYSIS damping to the system and make the output impedance
finite at low frequencies. Note that the duty cycle of the
One way of performing the small-signal analysis of the
PS-PWM converter would be to apply state-space aver- primary voltage has been kept constant.
aging. Doing this would, however, be a tedious job, be-
cause it would require solving the third-order system B. Duty Cycle Modulation Due to the Change of the
composed of six systems of equations (corresponding to Input Voltage
six topological stages of the converter) whose averaging Fig. 3 illustrates the effect of duty cycle modulation
factors are implicit functions of the states. due to the change of the input voltage. When the steady-
The analysis presented in this paper uses the fact that state operation (solid lines) is perturbed by an increase of
the PS-PWM converter is a buck-derived topology. It can the input voltage by the amount Din, the slope of the pri-
be seen from the description of the circyit operation that mary current will increase (dashed line) so that it will
the effective duty cycle, de, = Deff+ deff,of the trans- reach the reflected filter inductor current sooner than it
former secondary voltage depends not only on the duty would in the unperturbed operation. This will cause an
cycle d of the primary voltage but also on the output filter increase of the duty cycle of U , .
inductor current i,, the leakage inductance Llk,the input Examining Fig. 3 , the change of de, as a function of
voltage, U,,, and the switching frequency f,. This can be Din can be calculated as follows:
concluded by examining (3). The small-signal transfer
functions of this converter, therefore, will depend on L&,
f,, and the perturbations of the filter inductor current &,
@put voltage, a,, and duty cycle of the primary voltage where D’ = (1 - D ) .
d.
To accurately model the dynamic behavior of this con-
Din. (8)
verter, it is necessary to find out the contributions of L&,
I30 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 7, NO. I, JANUARY 1992

___--- In order to minimize the conduction losses due to the cir-

culating currents in the primary of the converter, D' is
vin .................. always made as small as possible [5]. Because of this, the
term containing D' is justifiably neglected when the con-
verter operates in deep continuous conduction mode. This
0 , . gives the following expression for 8,:

or
I

.. .. ward of input voltage, and it will increase the audio sus-

. t &.
<A
ceptability of this converter. Again, there was no change
- in duty cycle of vAE.

Fig. 2. Duty cycle modulation due to the change of filter inductor current. V. SMALL-SIGNAL MODEL
The results of the previous analysis can now be incor-
porated into the averaged small-signal circuit model of the
PWM buck converter. This can be done by replacing d in
the buck converter model (Fig. 4 ) by the total change of
deff,which is
Jeff= d + di + d,. (13)
The Few model is shown in Fig. 5. The contribution of
diand d, is represented by two controlled sources and the
contribution of d by tw? independent sources. This is to
ai
emphasize that and d, originate from the circuit itself
(i.e., perturbations of iL and vi") and are not controlled
by the control circuit. Close examination of (5) and (10)
shows that the circuit model of the buck converter is a
special case of the PS-PWM converter model. This can
be concluded by making Llk = 0, which gives di = a,,=
0. Transfer functions of the PS-PWM power stage can
now be derived using the new model and (6) and (l?.
For simplicity, the following derivations use (12) for d,.

VI. SMALL-SIGNAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE POWER

I I STAGE
In this section expressions for the transfer functions of
the power stage are given that can be easily incorporated
Fig. 3. Duty cycle modulation due to the change of input voltage. into mathematical programs such as MathCAD or cc to
facilitate the control circuit design. These transfer func-
tions are compared to the corresponding transfer functions
Under a small-signal assumption, this becomes: of the PWM buck converter having the same circuit ele-

Ai = n ( z I , - 9..$) 3 Bin. (9)

ments except L&, which is assumed to be equal to zero.
For simplified notation, the following definitions, refer-
ring to Fig. 5 , are used.
Transfer function of the output filter is
The change of de, caused by this effect, denoted as a,,, is 1 1
H =-= (14)
' - Aj' L
s2LC+s-+1
R
VLATKOVIC et a l . : SMALL-SIGNAL ANALYSIS 131

’U
1 : Deff
Fig. 4. Small-signal circuit model of the buck converter.

.
.I
Frequency (kHz)
nVmd nVi,(di+d,,)
L
rrm

1 : Deff
Fig. 5 . Small-signal circuit model of the PS-PWM converter.

Input impedance of the output filter is

0
RA< Frequency (kHz)

Fig. 6. Control-to-output voltage transfer functions of the buck (dashed

lines) and of the PS-PWM converters (solid lines).
Output impedance of the output filter is
SL
2, = -. It can be observed from this equation that the “built-in”
Af current feedback decreases the low frequency value of
The circuit parameter values used to plot the transfer God.This is caused by the presence of the term R d / R . In
functions are practice, the value of this term ranges from 0 to around
0.5, with a typical value of 0.25. The upper boundary of
Input voltage, Vi, 600 V this interval is determined by the loss of steady-state duty
Output voltage, V,,, 360 V cycle (3), which, in practice, must be kept below a rea-
Transformer turns ratio, n 1 sonable value [6]. For the purpose of further qualitative
Transformer leakage inductance, 52 pH analysis, it can be assumed that ( R d / R ) + 1 = 1. After
Switching frequency, fs 100 kHz the numerator and denominator are multiplied by 1/LC
Output filter inductor, L 315 pH = U: we obtain:
Output flter capacitor, C 5 PF
Load resistor, R 70 fl
A . Control-to-Output Transfer Function
The control-to-output transfer function is

Zf
G,,d = H , n V i n ___
Zf + Rd‘
Fig. 6 shows the control-to-output transfer functions of where is the damping of the second-order denominator:
the PWM buck converter (dashed lines) and of the PS-
r- r
PWM converter (solid lines). The differences between the
transfer functions in dc gain and resonant peaking are ap-
parent.
To gain insight on how the transformer leakage influ-
ences the power stage transfer function, the expressions The first term of 4 is the damping in the regular buck
for Zf and H, can be substituted into (17): converter. The use of leakage inductance introduces ad-
ditional damping, and the second term of can become
dominant. Fig. 7 shows the family of control-to-output
transfer functions of the PS-PWM power stage as the ratio
R d / R varies from 0 to 0.5. The damping of the system is
noticeably affected even for very small values of R d / R .
132 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 7, NO. I , JANUARY 1992

I I I I I I

I 1 I

1 IO 100
%!I Frequency (kHz)
Frequency (kHz)

Frequency (kHz)
Fig. 8. Control-to-filter inductor current transfer functions of the buck
Fig. 7 . Control-to-output transfer functions for different values of R d / R . (dashed lines) and PS-PWM converters (solid lines).

40
B. Control-to-Filter Inductor Current Transfer Function
The control-to-filter inductor current transfer function 30

is 20
&j
s
s.z 10
9 0
Fig. 8 shows the control-to-filter inductor current trans-
-10
fer functions of the PWM buck converter (dashed lines)
and of the PS-PWM converter (solid lines). The control- -20
0.1 1 IO 100
to-filter inductor current transfer function is altered in the Frequency (kHz)

same way as the control-to-output transfer function.

C. Output Impedance
The output impedance of the PS-PWM power stage is
H:
2, = 2, + ~
(23)
-+- 1'
1
zf Rd

Fig. 9 shows the output impedances of the PWM buck

converter (dashed lines) and of the PS-PWM converter Frequency (kHz)
(solid lines). It can be observed that the output impedance Fig. 9. Output impedances of the buck (dashed lines) and PS-PWM con-
of the PS-PWM converter is not attenuated at low fre- verters (solid lines).
quencies. Such behavior is expected knowing that the loss
of duty cycle (3) is a function of output current, i.e., the
dc output voltage is a function of the dc load current. Fig. 10 shows the audio susceptibilities of the PWM
buck converter (dashed lines) and the PS-PWM converter
D. Audio Susceptibility (solid lines). By examining (12) one could expect the au-
The audio susceptibility of the PS-PWM power stage is dio susceptibility of the PS-PWM converter power stage
to be higher than the audio susceptibility of the buck con-
verter. Fig. 10, however, shows that this is the case only
at higher frequencies. The explanation can be found by
VLATKOVIC et ai.: SMALL-SIGNAL ANALYSIS 133

50

s40 -
0 , .
230 '\
, ,' . _ -Buck
_
$ 1
@20 I '
$ 1
1'
-PS-PWM
10 .

I I I
1 10 100
%.'I Frequency (kHz)

Frequency (kHz) Frequency (kHz)

Fig. 10. Audio susceptibilities of the buck (dashed lines), and PS-PWM Fig. 1 1 . Input impedance of the buck (dashed lines) and PS-PWM con-
converters (solid lines). verters (solid lines).

examining (24). The second term inside the brackets does 40

not exist in the PWM buck converter, and it is introduced 30
by the use of Llk. At low frequencies, Zf = R, and the h 20
second term is equal to zero. This leads to the conclusjon
that the effect of (2, is neutralized by the influence of d, at
8
U
10

low frequencies. '9 O

2 -10
E. Input Impedance -20

The input impedance of the PS-PWM power stage is I I I

1 10 100
Frequency (kHz)

z. =
+ Rd 30 I I I I
(25)
In n*D;ff(1 +
Fig. 11 shows the input impedances of the PWM buck
converter (dashed lines) and the PS-PWM converter (solid
lines). As discussed in Section VI-D, the modulation of \.
-150
duty cycle due to the variation of input voltage affects the
input impedance only at high frequencies. -180 V
I I 1
-218.'1 1 10 100
Frequency (kHz)
V I I . EXPERIMENTAL VERIFICATION
Fig. 12. Control-to-output voltage transfer function of the PS-PWM con-
To verify the results of the analysis, a converter was verter. Model prediction (dashed lines) and experimental measurement
built with the same component values as shown in Section (solid lines).
VI. The only difference is that in order to achieve better
measurement accuracy, the input voltage, the output volt-
age, and the load resistance have been reduced to 50 V, ductor current transfer function. The agreement between
20 V, and, 50 Q,respectively. prediction and measurement is again very good. Fig. 14
The control-to-output transfer function is shown in Fig. shows the output impedance of the converter. The mea-
12. Both the gain and phase measurements agree very well surement clearly shows the first order response and loss
with predictions. Fig. 13 shows the control-to-filter in- of resonant peaking, predicted by analysis.
I34 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. I, NO. 1, JANUARY 1992

output filter, the reduction of the low-frequency magni-

tudes of the control-to-output and control-to-filter induc-
tor current transfer functions, and the transformation of
the output impedance nature from inductive to resistive at
low frequencies.
The analytical closed-form expressions for the transfer
functions of the PS-PWM power stage have been derived.
The new model can easily be incorporated into any circuit
simulation programs such as SPICE, or into mathematical
application program such as CC. The predictions of the
Frequency (kHz)
new model have been verified by measurements.

REFERENCES
[I] Z. D. Fang, D. Y. Chen, and F. C. Lee, “Designing a high frequency
snubberless FET power inverter,” in Proc. POWERCON 1 1 , vol.
DI-4, 1984, pp. 1-10,
121 R. A. Fisher, K. D. T. Ngo, and M. H . Kuo, “500 KHz 250 W dc-
dc converter with multiple output controlled by phase-shift PWM and
magnetic amplifiers,” High Frequency Power Conversion Con$ Rec.
’88, pp. 100-1 IO, 1988.
[3] L. H. Mweene, C. A. Wright, and M. F. Schlecht, “A 1 kW, 500
kHz front-end converter for a distributed power supply system,” in
I I I IEEE APEC’89 Proc., 1989, pp. 423-432.
1 10 100
Frequency (kHz) [4] R. Redl, N. 0. Sokal, and L. Balogh, “A novel soft-switching full-
bridge dc/dc converter: Analysis, design considerations, and experi-
Fig. 13. Control-to-filter inductor current transfer function of the PS-PWM mental results at 1.5 kW, 100 kHz,” IEEE Power Electronics Spe-
converter. Prediction (dashed lines) and measurement (solid lines). cialists’ Con5 Rec., 1990, pp. 162-172.
[5] J. A. SabatC, V. VlatkoviC, R. B. Ridley, F. C. Lee, and B. H. Cho,
“Design considerations for high-voltage high-power full-bridge zero-
30 voltage-switched PWM converter,” lEEE APECPO Proc., 1990, pp.
275-284.
[6] V. VorpCrian, R. Tymerski, and F. C. Y. Lee, “Equivalent circuit for
20 resonant and PWM switches,” IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol.
P PE-4, no. 2, pp. 205-214, April 1985.
s [7] V. VlatkoviC, J. A. SabatC, R. B. Ridley, F. C. Lee, and B. H. Cho,
3 10 “Small-signal analysis of zero-voltage switched full-bridge PWM con-
5z verter,” High Frequency Power Conversion Con$ ’90 Rec., 1990, pp.
262-272.
0

Vlatko Vlatkovif received the B.S. degree from

-10 the University of Novi Sad, Yugoslavia, and the
0.1 1 10 100
Frequency (kHz) M.S. degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute
Fig. 14. Output impedance of the PS-PWM converter. Model prediction and State University (VPI&SU), Blacksburg, VA,
in 1987 and 1991, respectively, both in electrical
(dashed lines) and experimental measurement (solid lines).
engineering. He is currently working towards the
Ph.D. degree at VPI&SU.
From 1987 to 1989 was was employed as a Re-
VIII. CONCLUSIONS search and Teaching Associate in the Institute for
Power and Electronics at the University of Novi
The phase-shift operation and the use of the large leak- Sad, where he worked on projects involving con-
age inductance to achieve ZVS have a significant
- impact trol of industrial machines and radio data svstem
, (RDS)
~, and assisted in
on the dynamics of the PS-PWM converter. The conver- teaching physics of semiconductors and architecture of microprocessors.
His research interests include power converter modeling and analysis and
sion ratio of this converter depends both on duty cycle of high-frequency power converters.
the primary voltage determined by the control and on val-
ues of load current and input voltage. Due to these effects,
Juan A. SabatC received the degree in electrical
the small-signal model of the PWM buck converter is not engineenng from the Polytechnic University of
accurate for the PS-PWM converter. Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain, and the M.S. degree
A new small-signal model of the PS-PWM converter from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Uni-
versity, in 1982 and 1988, respectively.
has been described. The effects caused by phase-shift op- He was a researcher and instructor in the Elec-
eration and use of large leakage inductance to achieve tronics Department of the Polytechnic University
ZVS have been modeled by introducing additional feed- of Catalunya between 1984 and 1986. In 1986 he
joined the Virginia Power Electronics Center at
forward and feedback terms for duty cycle modulation. A Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Univer-
small-signal circuit model has been developed by adding sity. Currently a research assistant, he is working
two controlled sources into the small-signal model of the towards a Ph.D. degree at the Bradley Department of Electrical Engineer-
ing. His research interests include resonant power conversion, high-fre-
PWM buck converter. The model accurately predicts the quency power converters, new converter topologies, and power converters
loss of resonant peaking at the resonant frequency of the modeling and analysis.
 VLATKOVIC et 01.: SMALL-SIGNAL ANALYSIS 135

Raymond B. Ridley received the B.S. degree additional patents pending. During his career he has published over 70 re-
from Boston University, Boston, MA, and the ferred journal papers, more than 130 technical papers in national and in-
M.S. and Ph.D. degree in electncal engineering ternatlonal conferences, and over 80 industry and government reports. He
from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Uni- is a member of the AdCom of IEEE Power Electronics Society, and As-
versity, in 1981, 1986, and 1990, respectively. sociate Editor of the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS. He was
From 1981 to 1984 he was employed as a Se- chairman of the 1987 IEEE Power Electronlcs Specialists Conference.
nior Engineer In the Power Systems Group at Dr. Lee received the Society of Automotive Engineenng 1985 Ralph R.
Prime Computer, where he worked on the design Teeter Educational Award, the IEEE Power Electronics Society’s 1989
and analysis of computer power supplies. He is William E. Newel1 Power Electronics Award, the PCIM Award in Lead-
presently the Assistant Director of the Virginla ership in Power Electronics Education, and the 1990 Alumni Award for
Power Electronics Center at VPI&SU. His re- Research Excellence from VPI&SU.
search interests include power converter control and analysis, high-fre-
quency converters, and computer-aided design for power systems.

Bo H. Cho (M’89) was born on February 11,

Fred C. Lee (F’90) received the B.S. degree in 1952. He received the B.S. and M.S.degrees from
electrical engineering from Chen-Kung Univer- California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA,
sity in Taiwan and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in the Ph.D. degree from Virginia Polytechnic Insti-
1968, 1971, and 1974, respectively. tute and State University, 1980, and 985 respec-
Dr. Lee is the director of the Virginia Power tively, all in electrical engineering.
Electronics Center (VPEC), at Virginia Polytech- From 1980 to 1982, he was employed as a
nic Institute and State University. Under his lead- member of Technical Staff of Power Conversion
ership, VPEC has become one of the largest uni- Electronics Department, TRW Defense and Space
versity power electronics centers in the country. System Group, where he was involved in the de-
Over 30 graduate students are currently enrolled sign and analysis of spacecraft power processing
in the program. The Industrial Partnership Pro- equipment. He joined the Department of Electrical Engineering, VPI&SU
gram includes 39 major companies from all over the world. in 1982, where he is presently an Associate Professor. His main research
Dr. Lee and his graduate students invented a new generation of high- interests include power electronics, modeling, analysis and control of
frequency power converter devices known as quasi-resonant converters spacecraft power-processing equipment, power systems for space station,
(QRC’s) and multiresonant converters (MRC’s). By eliminating switching and space platform, and distributed power system.
losses and stresses, these converters are capable of operating in the Dr. Cho received the 1989 Presidential Young Investigator Award (PYI)
megahertz range with significant improvement in performance and power from the National Science Foundation. He is a member of IEEE Power
density. Dr. Lee holds seven patents on QRCIMRC technology with two Electronics Society, and Tau Beta Pi.

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