Power Supply Design

Seminar
Phase-shifted full-bridge
converter fundamentals

Authors
Sheng-yang Yu, Ben Lough, Richard Yin and
Qing Ye
Agenda
• Why a phase-shifted full bridge (PSFB)?
– Power trends and the need for soft-switching converters
– PSFB target applications
• PSFB operation and design considerations
– How does a PSFB work, and how does it achieve soft switching?
– Types of output rectifiers for PSFB
– Voltage spikes on the output rectifier and clamping options
– Voltage-mode and peak current-mode control
– Synchronous rectifier (SR) modes of operation
– Light load management
• PSFB design example
• Summary 2
Why a PSFB?

3
Power trends
• Demands for smaller size, lighter and higher-
efficiency systems
• 80 Plus certification and Open Compute Project
(OCP) Modular Hardware System-Common
Redundant Power Supply (M-CRPS)
specifications drive high efficiency

Efficiency at 10% 20% 50% 100% Note Power-use

load load load load PUE: 1.25
efficiency (PUE): 3
80 Plus 90% 94% 96% 91% At 230-VAC input
Titanium
M-CRPS 90% 94% 96% 92% At 240-VAC input
(<2,500 W)
M-CRPS 90% 94% 96% 94% At 240-VAC input
(≥2,500 W)
4
 Motivation for soft switching
• Hard-switched turnon • Soft-switched turnon
– MOSFET current/voltage – MOSFET VDS discharged
overlap at turnon before VGS applied
– Trade-off of turnon speed – Turnon speed not critical for
(ton losses) vs. switch-node high efficiency
transient voltages (dV/dt) – Allows higher Fsw
(EMI noise)
– Ex: Hard-switched full-
bridge converter (HSFB)

HSFB PSFB 5
 Topology comparison: PSFB vs. LLC

PSFB converter LLC series resonant converter

• Uses energy stored in LS and LO for zero voltage • Uses energy stored in LM for ZVS
switching (ZVS) • Change Fsw for different VOUT/VIN gain
• Change phase angle for different VOUT/VIN gain • Advantages
• Advantages o Soft switching on output rectifier at Fsw ≤ fr
o Faster transient response o Higher efficiency when fsw ≈ fr
o Capable of wide voltage operating range • Disadvantages Series resonant f
o Fixed frequency, easy SR control o Larger secondary RMS currents
• Disadvantages o SR control more challenging
o Rectifier reverse recovery o Limited operating range
o Lost of ZVS on primary leg(s) at light loads
o Higher rectifier voltage stress 6
 Topology comparison: PSFB vs. DAB

PSFB converter DAB converter

• Uses energy stored in LS and LO for ZVS • Uses energy stored in LS for ZVS
• VOUT/VIN gain: determined by phase angle • VOUT/VIN gain: determined by phase angle
between the primary half bridges between transformer windings
• Lower output ripple current than a dual active • Large circulating current with single-phase shift
bridge (DAB) control
• Higher output rectifier stress • Applying multiple phase-shift control will lower
the circulating current
• Higher output ripple current than a PSFB

7
PSFB target applications
• PSFB can be a good fit for applications with:
o Fast transient requirements
▪ ≥10 A/μs in a server power-supply unit
(PSU) 12-V bus with a graphics
processing unit (GPU) load
Electric
vehicle
o Wide input/output ranges
battery:
▪ High-power battery applications
250 V to
CPU load: 450 V
four to eight
cores
optimized for
series tasks

Car battery:
GPU load: 9 V to 16 V
1,000 cores
optimized for up to 300 A
parallel tasks

8
Soft switching and operation

9
How does a PSFB work? 1.

1. Phase shifts to control nonzero

voltage transformer pulse width
2. Buck operation on output stage
for regulation
3. Duty-cycle loss limits effective
duty cycle 2.

3.
Inductor energy reset time 10
How does a PSFB achieve soft switching?
• Allows freewheeling current
– LS and LO energy can be used for ZVS

11
How does a PSFB achieve soft switching?
• Allows freewheeling current
– LS and LO energy can be used for ZVS
• Leg 1 ZVS: mainly relies on LS

12
How does a PSFB achieve soft switching?
• Allows freewheeling current
– LS and LO energy can be used for ZVS
• Leg 1 ZVS: mainly relies on LS
– Easy to lose ZVS at light loads
• Leg 2 ZVS: counts on both LS and LO
– Easy to keep ZVS at light loads

13
Rectifier and clamp

14
Output rectifiers for a PSFB
FB
• There are three types of rectifiers:
o Full-bridge (FB) rectifier
o Center-tapped (CT) rectifier
o Current-doubler (CD) rectifier

CT

CD

FB and CT

CD 15
Output rectifiers for a PSFB
FB
• There are three types of rectifiers:
o Full-bridge (FB) rectifier
o Center-tapped (CT) rectifier
o Current-doubler (CD) rectifier

CT

CD

FB and CT

CD 16
Output rectifiers for a PSFB
Type Inductor FSW D range Ns Rec Lo Characteristics FB
Better transformer utilization rate, good
FB 2 × FSW,PRI 0-100% 1 4 1
for high VO
Lowest component count, lower
CT 2 × FSW,PRI 0-100% 2 2 1
transformer utilization rate
Better transformer utilization rate, half
CD 1 × FSW,PRI 0-50% 1 2 2
iLo

CT

FSW FSW

2FSW
FSW CD
FB and CT
FSW

CD 17
Voltage spikes on the output rectifier
• Transformer winding series
inductor resonant with rectifier Coss
• Voltage peak could be as high as
N
2VIN NS
P

18
Clamp rectifier voltage spikes: Passive
• Cclamp as an ideal voltage source
(VCP − VOUT )(VCP − Vd )
R cl =
Ccl VCP 2Vd − VCP Fsw
• Clamp resistor dissipates Without clamp
Smaller Rcl With clamp
(VCP − VOUT )2  Lower VCP
VCP
PRcl =
R cl  Larger PRcl V
d

19
Clamp rectifier voltage spikes: Primary clamp
• Pros:
– Allows LS energy recycling
– Allows well-coupled transformer
windings for lower rectifier voltage With primary clamp Without primary clamp
stress LS = 3.5 µH, Llk = 0.5 µH LS = 0, Llk = 4 µH
• Cons:
– Additional diodes and discrete series
inductor needed for ZVS

20
Clamp rectifier voltage spikes: Active clamp
• Turn on QCL after t1 to allow rectifier
voltage to clamp to VCCL
• Size CCL capacitance for relatively
low ripple voltage: VGS(QCL)
2
NS
2π × LS × CCL ≫ TS
NP

21
Clamp rectifier voltage spikes: Active clamp
• Creates current distortion on iPRI
and iSR
o Makes peak current-mode control difficult
• QCL only needs to conduct for a VGS(QCL)
very short period to clamp
o Longer DACLTS => larger iCL and wider
nonmonotonic current duration

22
Control

23
PSFB control

24
 Modes of PSFB control

Voltage-mode control Voltage-mode control Peak current-mode control

with feedforward
• One high-side/low-side pair • Voltage ramp reference is fed • Current information from power
directly controlled by clock at from VIN or a voltage stage replaces ramp signal
the switching frequency proportional to VIN
• Current-sense (CS) resistor
• Second high-side/low-side pair • Immediate response to changes plus amplifier or CS
controlled by T flip-flop in input voltage transformer common methods

25
Voltage mode vs. peak current mode
Voltage mode Peak current mode

1.
2. 3.

• DC blocking capacitor, CB, is required to • CS transformer core automatically resets

1.
prevent transformer saturation • Contains no DC current information
• Blocking capacitor will increase PSU footprint
and voltage stress on SRs 2. • CS transformer reset more challenging
• Higher parasitic loop inductance

• Resistor plus CS amplifier is common

3.
• Missing magnetizing current information 26
Different modes of SRs in a PSFB
• Mode 0: diode conduction
(discontinuous conduction mode
[DCM])

Mode 0

27
Different modes of SRs in a PSFB
• Mode 1: SR channel conduction
only during inductor charging
period
– Avoids reverse current conduction

Mode 1

28
Different modes of SRs in a PSFB
• Mode 2: turn on all rectifiers/FETs
during freewheeling period
– Lower conduction losses at heavy
loads

Mode 2

All SRs are turned on

29
 Light-load management: Frequency reduction mode

• The PSFB continuously

switches

• Able to reduce effective

duty cycle while
maintaining a minimum
on-time

• Gate-drive transformer
not recommended
(saturation)
30
 Light-load management: Hysteretic burst mode
• When Vcomp becomes <Vburst_threshold,
the PSFB stops switching

• When Vcomp becomes >Vburst_threshold,

the PSFB resumes switching
Frequency reduction mode Hysteretic burst
mode
Transient Reduced control loop Fast
response bandwidth when in FR mode
Vburst_threhshold
CPU Large, need to compute Small, Vcomp
utilization required FSW enable/disable
pulse-width Out2H Out2L Out2H Out2L
modulation (PWM)
based on
comparator Out1H Out1L Out1H Out1L

Output Small Larger compared to Vsec

ripple FR mode
31
PSFB design example

32
PSFB design example: PMP22951
• Input voltage: 390 Vnom, 340 Vmin
• Output: 54-V/3-kW max, targeting OCP M-CRPS specification

54-V, 3-kW Phase-Shifted Full Bridge

with Active Clamp Reference Design 33
3-kW steady-state waveforms
• 140-kHz operation

80 V

34
M-CRPS load transient, 50% load step (3 A to 31 A)

Load
current
M-CRPS
limit
VOUT (AC-coupled)

IOUT

35
M-CRPS load transient, 50% load step (3 A to 31 A)

VNS
VOUT (AC-coupled)

IOUT

36
Summary
• A PSFB is a good candidate for applications that require a wide input/output
voltage range and fast load transient response
• Characteristics among a PSFB and other isolated topologies
• PSFB operation principles
• Discussed different types of rectifiers, rectifier clamping options, modes of control
• Showcased a PSFB reference design meeting M-CRPS specifications with active
clamping
• Calls to action in the following slides

37
Calls to action: Power trends and specifications
• Power trends:
– Yin, Richard. “Power Tips #109: Five major trends in power supply design for servers.”
EDN Power Tips series, August 2022. https://www.edn.com/five-major-trends-in-
power-supply-design-for-servers/
• 80 Plus standard:
– https://www.clearesult.com/80plus/program-details#program-details-table
• OCP M-CRPS specification:
– https://www.opencompute.org/wiki/Server/Working
• OCP Open Rack v3 specification:
– https://www.opencompute.org/wiki/Open_Rack/SpecsAndDesigns

38
Calls to action: Topology comparisons
• Resonant converter vs. DAB:
– Yu, Sheng-Yang, et al. “Designing a high-power bidirectional AC/DC power supply
using SiC FETs.” Texas Instruments Power Supply Design Seminar SEM2400,
literature No. SLUP399, 2020. https://www.ti.com/seclit/ml/slup399/slup399.pdf
• Resonant converter vs. PSFB:
– Gillmor, Colin. “Comparison of PSFB and FB-LLC for high power DC/DC conversion” in
Texas Instruments video library.
• Part 1: https://www.ti.com/video/5979520091001
• Part 2: https://www.ti.com/video/5980232599001
• Part 3: https://www.ti.com/video/5980257698001
• Part 4: https://www.ti.com/video/5980260615001
• Part 5: https://www.ti.com/video/5980344049001
• Part 6: https://www.ti.com/video/5980375024001

39
Calls to action: PSFB operation and rectifiers
• PSFB operation and how to achieve PSFB soft switching:
– Sabate, J.A., et al. “Design considerations for high-voltage high-power full-bridge zero-
voltage-switched PWM converter.” In Proc. APEC, 1990, pp. 275-284.
• PSFB output rectifiers:
– Balogh, Laszlo. “The current-doubler rectifier: an alternative rectification technique for
push-pull and bridge converters.” Texas Instruments application note, literature No.
SLUA121. https://www.ti.com/lit/an/slua121/slua121.pdf

40
Calls to action: PSFB clamping options
• Passive clamp:
– Lin, Song-Yi, et al. “Analysis and design for RCD clamped snubber used in output
rectifier of phase-shift full-bridge ZVS converters.” In IEEE Transactions on Industrial
Electronics 45, no. 2 (April 1998), pp. 358-359.
• Primary clamp:
– Redl, Richard. “Optimum ZVS Full-Bridge DC/DC Converter with PWM Phase-Shift
Control: Analysis, Design Considerations, and Experimental Results.” In Proc. APEC,
1994, pp. 159-165, vol. 1.
• Active clamp:
– Yu, Sheng-Yang, et al. “Achieving high converter efficiency with an active clamp in a
PSFB converter.” Texas Instruments Analog Design Journal, literature No. SLYT835,
Q1 2023. https://www.ti.com/lit/an/slyt835/slyt835.pdf

41
Calls to action: PSFB control and design examples
• PSFB control:
– Wang, Shi-song, et al. “Small-Signal Modeling of Phase-Shift Full-Bridge Converter with
Peak Current Mode Control.” 2020 IEEE ASEMD, Tianjin, China, 2020, pp. 1-2.
– Ahmed, M.R., et al. “Enhanced Models for Current-Mode Controllers of the Phase-Shifted
Full Bridge Converter with Current Doubler Rectifier.” In IEEE ECCE Asia 2019, pp. 3271-
3278.
– Vlatkovic V., et al. “Small-signal analysis of the phase-shifted PWM converter.” Published in
IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics 7, issue 1 (January 1992): pp. 128-135.
– Basso, Christophe. “Transfer Functions of Switching Converters.” Faraday Press, 2021.
• Design examples:
– 3-kW (400 V to 12 V) Phase-Shifted Full Bridge with Active Clamp Reference Design:
https://www.ti.com/tool/PMP23126
– 3-kW (400 V to 54 V) Phase-Shifted Full Bridge with Active Clamp Reference Design:
https://www.ti.com/tool/PMP22951
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SLUP423

43
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