Ricerca e Terza missione Laboratori e gruppi di ricerca-oldUSCNDLab - Ultrasound and Non Desctructive Testing LaboratoryElectronics for analog systems and sensors for non-destructive testingElectronic Analog Systems And SensorsAnalog electronic design

Analog electronic design

Size reduction of electronic DC–DC converters is a topic of major interest for power electronics.
The design goal is usually the achievement of size shrinking without scarifying the quantity of
managed power. This means an increase in power density, expressed as managed power over converter volume. Increasing the switching frequency of the converter, aiming at the size reduction of the
passive components, has often a key role in this direction. This requires the study and design of
circuits and components working under redefined requirements. New converters' circuital topologies can provide advantages in terms of power density increment, especially in applications where  a single chip integration is possible. Single  chip integration can dramatically reduce the impact of parasitics, allowing at the same time more complex and specifically fitted circuital designs. This concept has been applied to implement an integrated high step-down multiphase buck converter.
With respect to passive components, particular attention has been dedicated to magnetic cores of
power inductors and to the study of magnetic materials’ core hysteresis losses. In fact, these
losses are increasing with switching frequency increment and a more detailed knowledge of their
mechanisms could allow a better selection of the magnetic materials depending on converter's
requirements. This concept has been investigated focusing on the development of an hysteresis model
and a measurement setup which can be used to characterize magnetic cores' materials hysteresis behaviour under different current waveforms.