Low Power Electronics (DC-DC Converters)

This area of research focuses on the development of systematic design methods for the design and control of low cost flexible digitally implemented dc-dc converters (e.g. buck, boost, buck-boost).

Application Areas
Relevant application areas include:

• Consumer electronics; e.g. PCs
• Automotive electronics
• Aerospace electronics

• optimal performance-based filter design
• filter parameter fluctuations
• filter high frequency parasitic dynamics
• PWM frequency/resolution selection
• PWM constraint enforcement issues
• switching transistor uncertainty
• load fluctuations (i.e. output disturbances, additional parasitic dynamics)
• line voltage fluctuations (i.e. input disturbances)
• output voltage measurement noise
• time delay (lag) associated with A/D
• A/D resolution and quantization effects
• time delay and lag associated with D/A /PWM
• D/A/PWM resolution effects
• lag due to anti-aliasing filter (AAF)
• discrete-time (sample-data) controller design methodology
• command following, disturbance attenuation, sensor noise attenuation
• performance robustness
• output ripple specification, load fluctuation and line voltage attenuation specifications, robustness specifications
• controller complexity and implementation issues
• controller coefficient sensitivity issues
• finite precision arithmetic (word length) effects within embedded processor; e.g. field programmable gate array (FPGA)
• controller-filter power consumption
• power efficiency
• controller implementation within FPGA
• controller adaptation; e.g. model-based disturbance attenuation, frequency adaptation
• power up issues
• duty cycle constraint enforcement and wind-up effects
• use of high-level rapid protoyping tools
• fault tolerance issues