An Experimental Approach for Locating the Current Distribution in Multiphase Buck Converters
Abstract
The objective of this paper is to present a methodology for identifying the current flow in the capacitors of a multiphase buck converter by synchronously measuring the capacitor currents. A multiphase buck converter uses multiple parallel buck converters with different switching times to source a large amount of current. Currents in the primary capacitors of a multiphase buck converter are drawn by all phases of the converter; however, the phases switch asynchronously. Synchronizing to the switching of a specific phase reveals how the current from that phase is distributed among the capacitors throughout a circuit board. The proposed measurement method is illustrated by comparing an initial printed circuit board design to a new design to show the effect of better capacitor placement and the addition of a ground plane. The new design confines the phase currents to the capacitors close to the field effect transistors of the specific phase.
Recommended Citation
P. Shao et al., "An Experimental Approach for Locating the Current Distribution in Multiphase Buck Converters," IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic Compatibility, vol. 56, no. 6, pp. 1344 - 1351, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Dec 2014.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1109/TEMC.2014.2343834
Department(s)
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Research Center/Lab(s)
Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Laboratory
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
0018-9375
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2014 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 Dec 2014
