Comparison of PSFB and FB-LLC for high

power DC/DC conversion

High Voltage Controllers (HVC)

Created by: Colin Gillmor
Presented by: Michael O’Loughlin
1
Agenda
1/ Typical High Power DC/DC application
2/ The PSFB and FB-LLC
– How the PSFB works
– How the FB-LLC works
3/ Comparison: PSFB and FB-LLC
4/ Conclusions
– Conclusions
– Further Reading
– TI Components
– Reference Designs

2
 Typical Battery Charger Specifications
Input: Universal Single Phase Line with PFC
3.3kW

Output Voltage:
• 1.75:1 range (Li-Ion), 400V/230V 1.9kW 85% 100%
• 1.25:1 range (Lead Acid), 14.1V/11.4V
3%
Output Power Lithium Ion
• Output Power: 3.3kW, increases during charging

Constant Current and Constant Voltage modes 3.3kW

Options: ≈70% 98%

2.6kW
• PSFB or FB-LLC – but which ? 100%

Lead Acid
3
Agenda
1/ Typical High Power DC/DC application
2/ The PSFB and FB-LLC
– How the PSFB works
– How the FB-LLC works
3/ Comparison: PSFB and FB-LLC
4/ Conclusions
– Conclusions
– Further Reading
– TI Components
– Reference Designs

4
 The PSFB (and ZVS)
Buck Derived topology
QA, QB – reference pair
D controlled by phase shifting QC, QD
Energy transfer when diagonal pairs of switches are ON
QE, QF are SRs, Diode rectification is possible
ZVS allows efficient operation from high input voltages

ZVS = Zero Voltage Switching

Energy in CSTRAY is

• ZVS brings VDS to zero before

MOSFET turned on.
• No energy in CSTRAY therefore
no switching losses.
5
Introduction to the FB-LLC Increased complexity is justified
The FB-LLC: • Primary voltage doubled
A Full bridge variant of the ‘usual’ half bridge LLC • Primary current halved
• More power for same size
Reposition CR and add two switches, A’ and B’ • The same arguments as for
Same drive signals can be used as on half bridge LLC all Full Bridge vs Half Bridge
• Applied to Diagonal Pairs, A, A’ and B,B’ topologies

OUTA OUTA OUTB

OUTB OUTB OUTA

HB-LLC
FB-LLC 6
PSFB and FB-LLC: Side by side
PSFB FB-LLC
• Constant Frequency • Variable Frequency
• Wide conversion range • Limited conversion range
• Can be easily Synchronised • Difficult to Synchronise
• Easy to parallel for current sharing • Difficult to force current sharing
• ZVS • ZVS
• High Efficiency • Highest Efficiency
Component Count – similar
Component stresses – different
Method of operation - different
Which to choose
How to choose

PSFB FB-LLC
7
PSFB and FB-LLC: Comparison
Parameter PSFB FB-LLC Comment
Fixed frequency has system level
Switching Frequency Fixed Variable
advantages (eg. synchronisation)
Primary switches 4 4 2 High Side, 2 Low Side
Rectifiers 2 2 Same rectifier circuits can be used
Isolation Yes Yes Built into transformer

More Comparisons will be added later with a summary and conclusions at the end

8
Agenda
1/ Typical High Power DC/DC application
2/ The PSFB and FB-LLC
– How the PSFB works
– How the FB-LLC works
3/ Comparison: PSFB and FB-LLC
4/ Conclusions
– Conclusions
– Further Reading
– TI Components
– Reference Designs

9
Phase Shifted Full Bridge PA Leg AP Leg
Left Leg Right Leg
QA, QB QC, QD

Buck Derived topology

OUTA, OUTB – reference pair
D controlled by phase shifting OUTC & OUTD
QE, QF are SRs, Diode rectification is possible
Mouse over the waveforms to play the animation
10
 PSFB: Other Features
Adaptive Delays: The time needed to achieve ZVS for both PA and AP legs is a function of the
transformer current. Some controllers allow the user to change the delay times of the primary
and secondary switches as a function of the current, UCC28950, UCC28951, UCC3895.

SR disable: The ability to disable the SRs and revert to diode rectification at light loads. This
prevents reverse currents in the resonant tank and improves light load efficiency.

Bi-Directional operation:
The PSFB isn’t well suited to bi-directional operation but we do have some examples -

PMP5726 This is a slow drain modulation power converter – not truly bi-directional but it allow
SRs to operate right down to zero load for improved transient response.
TIDA-00653 A 48V/12V bidirectional battery charger. PSFB in forward direction. Push-Pull in
reverse direction
11
Agenda
1/ Typical High Power DC/DC application
2/ The PSFB and FB-LLC
– How the PSFB works
– How the FB-LLC works
3/ Comparison: PSFB and FB-LLC
4/ Conclusions
– Conclusions
– Further Reading
– TI Components
– Reference Designs

12
How the FB-LLC works
• LLC is popular because - • The gain of the LLC stage is Vout/Vin
• ZVS reduces switching losses • Regulate Vout by changing fsw
• It can achieve good efficiency • CR, LR and LM form a resonant tank.
• Low EMI

OUTA OUTB

Basically the LLC is

a Potential Divider OUTB OUTA

Z1 = CR,LR
Z2 = LM

LM = Magnetizing Inductance, LR = Resonant Inductance, CR = Resonant Capacitance

13
 LLC: First Harmonic Approximation
• LLC Stage Analysis is difficult
– No easy analytical solution
• Approach used here is FHA
– Assumes that only the first harmonic of the switching waveform is significant
– Reasonably accurate close to resonance
– Increasingly inaccurate as system operates away from resonance
• Most efficient close to resonance.

An Alternative LLC Design Process is described in slua733

14
LLC: Gain vs Frequency Characteristic
First Harmonic Approximation Calculation Gain vs frequency curves
Gives an APPROXIMATE value for Gain at different load conditions

2
LN f
 
Gain f Q
2  2 
LN f  f  1 1  jf LN Q 
LM LM 2 1
LN 8NT RL f0
LR LN
LR RE
2
2  LR CR


NT = Turns Ratio, RL = Load, LM = Magnetizing Inductance, LR = Resonant Inductance, CR = Resonant

Capacitance
15
 LLC: Gain range
• Can get the same gain range across different frequencies – A or B have the same
gain range (Vertical bars) but different frequency spans. Complex tradeoffs to choose
best operating range.
Typ Gain vs Freq plot
• Increased core losses at higher frequency
• Above resonance: Loss of rectifier ZCS
A
ZCS = Zero Current Switching Best Efficiency at f0
• Possible loss of ZVS at higher frequency
• Summary: B
• Design optimisation is very difficult
f0 = Resonant Frequency
f0
16
LLC – Below, At and Above Resonance
• Above Resonance, ZVS achieved, CCM* on sec, Rectifiers not soft
switched. Lower RMS currents for given power

0A

• At Resonance, ZVS achieved, CCM on sec, Rectifiers are soft

switched (ZCS), Optimum efficiency

0A

• Below Resonance, ZVS achieved, DCM on sec, Rectifiers are soft

switched (ZCS), RMS currents higher for given power.
CCM = Continuous Conduction Mode, DCM = Discontinuous Conduction Mode 0A
17
17
 FB-LLC: Other Features
The time needed to achieve ZVS is a function of the magnetizing current. Some controllers
change the delay times as a function of the current.

SR disable – the ability to disable the SRs and revert to diode rectification at light loads. This
prevents reverse currents in the resonant tank and improves light load efficiency.

Bi-Directional operation
The FB-LLC (like the normal LLC) isn’t well suited to bi-directional operation but some examples
have been published in the literature, I’m not aware of any production ready design

Seamless Operation of Bi-Directional LLC Resonant Converter for PV System

Abe et al, APEC 2014
Bidirectional LLC Resonant Converter for Energy Storage Applications
Jiang et al, Apec 2013
18
Agenda
1/ Typical High Power DC/DC application
2/ The PSFB and FB-LLC
– How the PSFB works
– How the FB-LLC works
3/ Comparison: PSFB and FB-LLC
4/ Conclusions
– Conclusions
– Further Reading
– TI Components
– Reference Designs

19
Comparison: PSFB and LLC
Parameter PSFB FB-LLC Comment
Complex, approximate
Conversion Ratio Vo = D Vin, PWM Easier to calculate on PSFB
expression, FM*
ZVS on PA leg more difficult
Yes but difficult at light Yes, more difficult as than AP leg (PSFB) and
ZVS
loads frequency increased more difficult at higher
frequency (FB-LLC)
ZCS reduces reverse
No, high di/dt at turn- Yes – ZCS - at or below recovery switching losses
Rectifier ZCS turn off
off resonance (f0) n/a if SiC or Schottky
Diodes used.
Use Burst Mode to
Use Burst Mode to FB_LLC losses will be
Light Load Operation prevent fsw increasing
maintain ZVS higher in this condition
unreasonably
Good, best at FB-LLC best at ‘Sweet
Efficiency Good
Resonance Spot’
20
Synchronisation Master
Easy on the PSFB, difficult on the FB-LLC

So why Synchronise ?
• With two sources and some non-linearity you get mixing which gives
energy at the sum and difference frequencies – (f1 + f2 and f1 – f2).
Slave
The difference frequency can appear in the audible range.

• Audio systems especially want to avoid any beat frequencies.

• Reduces aperiodic system noise.– spikes on the CS waveforms

causing unwanted PWM jitter for example. Slave

21
PSFB and FB-LLC: Comparison
PSFB FB‐LLC Comment
FB‐LLC uses Fsw as the 
Synchronisation Simple Difficult
Vout control variable.

22
Paralleling and Current Sharing: PSFB
Easy on the PSFB, difficult on the FB-LLC
Current Sharing PSFB
Paralleling is used to increase system level power in
With (optional) SYNC
manageable steps. A 10kW system may be built from three
3.3kW systems in parallel.

Redundancy, n+1 eg 10kW = 4 x 3.3kW

Expansion to meet future expected load growth

We also want the three sub-systems to share the load equally.

23
 Paralleling and Current Sharing: FB-LLC
Easy on the PSFB, difficult on the FB-LLC

Reference design tiduct9 is a current sharing, paralleled,

synchronised HB-LLC. It uses a C2000 processor to control
the system and modulate the duty cycle.
FM for regulation of PH1

FM and PWM modulation

of PH2 for Synchronisation
and current sharing.

24
PSFB and FB-LLC: Comparison
PSFB FB‐LLC Comment
Difficult –
FB‐LLC needs
Paralleling and Current Share Simple especially if 
Microcontroller
SYNC needed

25
Synchronous Rectification
Easy on the PSFB, less so on the FB-LLC

The SR signals for the PSFB are synchronous with the

primary signals.

A timing based approach to SR control won’t work in the FB-

LLC, especially when it is operating below resonance.
Vds sensing must be used on the FB-LLC.

SR gives significant efficiency improvement for low output

voltages – 12V, 24V, 48V
SR is marginally useful for medium output voltages – 130V
SR is not worth while for high output voltages – 400V

SRs are controlled rectifiers, if you don’t turn them off they will
conduct current in either direction.
26
PSFB and FB-LLC: Comparison
PSFB FB-LLC Comment
Diode rectification used on
high Vo designs. Low di/dt
Synchronous Rectification Easy Needs Care
rates in FB-LLC makes SR
drive tricky.

SR Controller
UCC27424 SR Driver

UCC24612 UCC24610

27
Dithering
Dithering is the deliberate changing the switching frequency and is sometimes used as a
method to reduce the conducted EMI signature of a product

In a PWM system changing the switching frequency does not change the on time so the duty
cycle changes and so does Vout
The duty cycle has to be corrected by the operation of the control loop otherwise it will cause
Vout variations. Depends on relative speeds of dithering and loop bandwidth

In the LLC the switching frequency is the control variable. Dithering is not possible without
changing Vout – the control loop cannot correct for this.
• True for both DFC (Direct Frequency) and HHC (Hybrid Hysteretic) control methods

Dithering is a complex subject. slup269 Understanding Noise-Spreading Techniques and

their Effects in Switch-Mode Power Applications gives some insight.

28
Dithering
PSFB FB-LLC Comment
Dithering is of
Dithering Simple Very Difficult
marginal benefit.

Jitter No Jitter
29
Component Stresses: General
• The component stresses in the following slides are all based on simulations
of 3kW PSFB and FB-LLC designs operating at constant 250A output.

• The FB-LLC resonant frequency was set to 100kHz

• The PSFB was switching at 100kHz

I_IN_PSFB I_IN_LLC

30
Input Current
400Vin, 250A PSFB FB-LLC
Input current in FB-LLC is about 5% higher A RMS A RMS
than the PSFB
10.8V 8.8A 9.2A*
This isn’t really significant 12V 9.2A 9.3A**

14V 10A 10.7A***

Input current wave shapes are different.

PSFB has more HF harmonics than FB-LLC.

(PSFB current has sharper edges !)
I_IN_PSFB I_IN_LLC

*above Resonance, **At Resonance, ***below Resonance

31
Primary Switches
400Vin PSFB FB-LLC
At a constant 250A output current
A RMS A RMS

Currents in 4 LLC switches are equal 10.8Vo, 2.7kW 7.87A 6.52A *

Currents in 4 PSFB switches are equal 12Vo, 3kW 7.69A 6.59A **

RMS current about 12% higher in PSFB 14Vo, 3.4kW 7.72A 7.52A ***

Difference reduces as Vout and Pout increase *above Resonance, **At Resonance, ***below Resonance
This assumes constant output current

Estimate a 40% higher dissipation in PSFB

for a given Rds_on I_QA_PSFB I_QA_LLC

Use lower Rds_on switches to reduce losses.

I_QC_PSFB I_QC_LLC

32
 Resonant and Blocking Caps
400Vin, 12Vo, PSFB (Blocking) FB-LLC (CR)
CR is required in the LLC topology. 3kW
Current is output reflected current,
IOE plus magnetizing current, Imag P-P Voltage ±2.8V ±300V
RMS current 11A 9.4A
Current is about 17% higher in the PSFB
Part Rating 600V 600V
C 7.5uF 75nF

A DC blocking capacitor is needed for Voltage Mode Control in

the PSFB – CBLK 7.5uF at 3kW.
Not needed in Peak Current Mode Control Sinusoidal Current in CR - At resonance

Capacitors perform different functions.

Both are non-polarised I_Pri_LLC = I_Cres
CBLK larger and more expensive than CR
V_Cres_LLC

33
 Resonant and Shim Inductors
LR is required in the LLC topology. 400Vin, PSFB (LSHIM) FB-LLC
Current is output reflected current, IOE plus 12Vo, 3kW (LR)
magnetizing current, Imag , Same as in the RMS 11A 9.4A
resonant capacitor Current
L 5uH (Lshim+Lleak) 34uH
A Shim inductor may be needed to store energy I_Lshim_PSFB,
for ZVS in the PSFB – LSHIM 5uH at 3kW. – I_LR_LLC
depends on L_Leak

Possibility to use transformer leakage inductance Sinusoidal Current in LR , At resonance

in both circuits Trapezoidal current in LSHIM

FB-LLC inductor is likely to be bigger than the

PSFB Shim Inductor.
Current is about 17% higher in the PSFB
34
Transformer – Primary
400Vin, PSFB FB-LLC
Primary currents are about 17% higher in 12Vo, 3kW
PSFB
IPRI 11A RMS 9.4A RMS
• Copper losses will be greater
LMAG 550uH 172uH
Generally, a FB-LLC transformer will be
larger than an equivalent PSFB transformer. I_XFMR_Pri_PSFB I_XFMR_Pri_LLC
• Must operate at lower frequencies –
below resonance.

LLC transformers in general can be low V_LRES_LLC V_CRES_LLC

profile – increased leakage inductance is not

a problem
V_XFMR_Pri_PSFB V_XFMR_Pri_LLC CR + LR voltage sums to zero
One reason LLC is very popular in DTV

35
 Transformer – Secondary
RMS currents are about 13% lower in PSFB –
lower Cu and SRRDSON losses 400Vin PSFB FB-LLC
(A RMS) (A RMS)

Average currents are the same – 10.8Vo, 2.7kW 251 276*

Diode Vf losses are the same.
12Vo, 3kW 248 278**

Ripple current is much higher in FB-LLC 14Vo, 3.4kW 252 315***

I_Sec_PSFB I_Sec_LLC
For the Centre Tapped Secondary
LLC VSEC is 2 x VOUT
PSFB Vsec is Vin/NT Stress is higher in PSFB 0A

0V
V_Sec_PSFB V_Sec_LLC
*above Resonance, **At Resonance, ***below Resonance

36
Output Rectifiers
PSFB FB-LLC
This is a comparison of the currents in the center (A RMS) (A RMS)
400Vin
tapped secondary.

To a first approximation 10.8Vo, 2.7kW 177 195*

RMS current determines I2R losses in SRs
12Vo, 3kW 175 197**
Average current determines Vf*If losses in Diodes
14Vo, 3.4kW 178 223***
FB-LLC has higher secondary currents than the
PSFB, expect higher conduction losses ZVS on both PSFB and FB-LCLC
CCM, no ZCS (PSFB) ZCS (FB-LLC)
Voltage stresses (Centre Tapped Secondary)
2xVout (FB-LLC)
2 xVin Ns/NP (PSFB) I_Cout_PSFB I_Cout_LLC
0A

*above Resonance, **At Resonance, ***below Resonance

0A 37
 Output Capacitors
Ripple current is about 9 times higher in the FB-LLC 400Vin, PSFB FB-LLC
FB-LLC: Capacitor Ripple rating usually sets C 12Vo, 3kW
needed*
ICOUT
Less of a problem at high Vout (400V) (200kHz)
14A (RMS) 125A (RMS)

FB-LLC requires significantly more output 41000uF, 16V 250000uF, 16V

Example
4.2A 4.2A
capacitance than the PSFB
Parts used 5 x 8200uF 32 x 8200uF
The FB-LLC will deliver much higher peak currents
into an output short than the PSFB.

0A
*It’s not possible to use battery to absorb the ripple
currents at the output of the power stage I_Cout_PSFB I_Cout_LLC

38
PSFB and FB-LLC: Comparison
Parameter PSFB FB‐LLC Comment
Ripple current in Cout is 
about 9 times greater in 
Large C, Very High  the FB‐LLC than the PSFB
Output Capacitor Small, Low Ripple
Ripple Low ESR high quality 
capacitors needed in the 
LLC.
RMS primary switch 
Same voltage 
Primary Switches currents are higher in the 
stresses but ….
PSFB.
Generally, a FB‐LLC 
Operates over a 
Fixed frequency  transformer will be larger 
Transformer wide frequency 
operation than an equivalent PSFB 
range
transformer

39
Comparison - EMI
dv/dt rates are similar – pri/sec voltage changes drive CM currents through transformer.
di/dt rates on PSFB are higher than on the LLC – these draw DM currents from the input

LLC transformer will have lower pri/sec cap because it can tolerate more leakage inductance
– should be lower CM currents

LLC converters manage “almost” sinusoidal current waveforms

Variable switching frequency on the LLC complicates EMI filter design

PSFB operates at a fixed switching frequency makes EMI filter design easier

• PSFB is inherently a higher noise topology than the FB-LLC

• BUT: no SMPS topology is noise free

CM = Common Mode, DM = Differential Mode

40
Agenda
1/ Typical High Power DC/DC application
2/ The PSFB and FB-LLC
– How the PSFB works
– How the FB-LLC works
3/ Comparison: PSFB and FB-LLC
4/ Conclusions
– Conclusions
– Further Reading
– TI Components
– Reference Designs

41
Summary
Parameter PSFB FB‐LLC Comment
Switching Frequency Fixed Variable Fixed frequency is nice to have
Good, minimise Body  Good, best at 
Efficiency FB‐LLC best at ‘Sweet Spot’
Diode Conduction.  Resonance
System level features Good Poor Synchronisation, current share
Generally, a FB‐LLC transformer 
Fixed frequency  Operates over a wider 
Transformer will be larger than an equivalent 
operation frequency range
PSFB transformer
Medium level of  Low level of noise 
EMI FB‐LLC: is inherently lower noise.
noise generation generation
Vo range Wide Medium A limiting factor for FB‐LLC

42
Conclusions
PSFB FB-LLC

• Design is easier • Design is difficult

• Flexible all rounder • Best efficiency at ‘sweet spot’
• ‘Systems Friendly’ features – • Better EMI performance than PSFB.
parallelability, current sharing, • Less ‘Systems Friendly’.
synchronisation are all easy • Not suited to high power low Vout
• Suited to high power low and high applications – Cout Ripple
output voltage • Good for fixed Vo/Vin (High Voltages)
Which to choose
How to choose

43
Further Reading
1. Design and Optimization of a High-Performance LLC Converter; B McDonald, J Freeman: slup306 Note_1
2. Designing an LLC Resonant Half-Bridge Power Converter; H. Huang: slup263
3. LLC Design for UCC29950: J Leisten: (note: despite the title this covers LLC design in general.) slua733
4. A current sharing, paralleled, synchronised HB-LLC, using a C2000 processor: tiduct9
5. LCC Converter Small Signal Modeling: McDonald.: Texas Instruments Power Supply Design Seminar, SEM2100, 2014. Note_2

6. A Design Review of a Full-Featured 350-W Offline Power Converter.: Marjanovic et al Texas Instruments Power Supply Design Seminar 2012.*
7. Zero Voltage Switching Resonant Power Conversion: Andreycak:. Unitrode Power Supply Design Seminar 700, 1990.
8. UCC28950 600-W, Phase-Shifted, Full-Bridge Application Report.: O’Loughlin, M. Texas Instruments Application Report, June 2011. slua560c

9. Phase Shifted Full Bridge, Zero Voltage Transition Design Considerations: Texas Instruments Application Report, August 2011. slua107a
10. Seamless Operation of Bi-Directional LLC Resonant Converter for PV System: Abe et al. APEC 2014
11. Bidirectional LLC Resonant Converter for Energy Storage Applications: Jiang et al. APEC 2013

12. Understanding Noise-Spreading Techniques and their Effects in Switch-Mode Power Applications, Rice et al. slup269

Note_1: A Google search for ‘slup306’ for example should find these TI papers

Note_2: TI power supply design seminar archive at http://www.ti.com/ww/en/power-training/login.shtml?DCMP=pwr-psds-archive

44
Texas Instruments Components
• UCC27714 , High-Speed, 4-A, 600-V High-Side Low-Side Gate Driver
• UCC24610 Secondary Side Synchronous Rectifier Controller
• UCC24612 High-Frequency Multi-Mode Synchronous Rectifier Controller
• UCC256301 Wide Vin LLC Resonant Controller With High-Voltage Start Up Enabling Ultra-Low
Standby Power (one of a family of UCC25630x HHC controllers)
• UCC28950 Green Phase-Shifted Full-Bridge Controller with Synchronous Rectification. Automotive
qual version is available (-Q1)
• UCC28951-Q1 Phase-Shifted Full-Bridge Controller for Wide Input Voltage Range
• UCC2895 BiCMOS Advanced Phase Shift Resonant Controller. Automotive version is available (-Q1)
• UCC25600 8-Pin High-Performance Resonant Mode LLC Controller
• UCC21520 4A/6A, 5.7 kVrms Isolated Dual Channel Gate Driver
• UCC27424 Dual, Low side, 4A MOSFET Driver

45
Reference Designs
(EVSE) Reference Design, tidub87 is a reference design for Level 1 and Level 2 Electric Vehicle Service
Equipment
PMP20657B This is is a compact, efficient unidirectional 48V to 12V @ 400W power converter.
PMP6712 is a 1600W DCDC converter using the UCC28950 controller in a dual phase master-slave
configuration
Existing Reference Design PMP8880, 12V, 460W with SRs
PMP5726 This is a slow drain modulation power converter – not truly bi-directional but it allows SRs to
operate right down to zero load for improved transient response.
TIDA-00653 A 48V/12V bidirectional battery charger. PSFB in forward direction. Push-Pull in reverse
direction
TIDA-00705 480-W, 97% η, Ultra-Compact (480W/in3), Bi-Directional DC-DC (Low voltage, half bridge)
Reference Design Library The full TI reference design library

46
Acknowledgements
• A note to say a big ‘Thank You’ to the following people who gave me valuable inputs for
this presentation. Of course any errors are my responsibility alone.

• Roberto Scibilia
• S.Ramkumar
• Jose Gomez
• Bing Lu
• Joe Leisten
• Yalong Li

47
 Thank You

Colin Gillmor, Michael O’Loughlin: (HPC)

48
TI Information – Selective
Disclosure