Designing Buck Converter without Bucking the FCC - Part 1 of 2

Using different low-power components on a PCB often requires different power sources. In most cases, these voltages are derived from a single source. The DC-DC step-down converter (also known as a buck converter) is a convenient way to accomplish this task. There are many advantages to using a buck converter instead of a linear type converter, such as efficiency and voltage ripple avoidance. However, a buck converter must be properly designed and laid out to avoid issues, such as noise, common with switching mode power circuits.

This webinar will be presented by Sean Kelly, who has many years of experience designing and implementing buck converters and FCC compliance challenges. This webinar will review the buck converter's circuit theory and provide some key layout points to avoid issues such as noise emissions, which can cause a product to fail FCC certification.

Q&A from Webinar

Learn More

"Boosting" your success with the FCC - Part 2 of 2

In our prior webinar, Buck converters without bucking the FCC, Sean Kelly reviewed the circuit and the layout for a buck converter to minimize the potential noise issues that could impact the board and the ability to pass the FCC requirements. Due to time constraints, Sean was not able to cover FCC requirements.

In part two of this series, Sean will focus on the FCC aspects and introduce the boost circuit topology. Also, the topics of load regulation and efficiency will be discussed.

If you missed part 1 and want to view it, click the following button.

Part 1

Learn More

Power Distribution Network & Power Integrity

Though signals tend to focus on impedance issues, the power distribution network (PDN) on the board is just as susceptible to impedance. The PCB layer stack-up is a capacitor all its own, and with the addition of bypass capacitors and inductors on the board, the ability to distribute power to avoid power starvation or to reduce ripple becomes an integral part of the design.

Topics include:

• The power distribution network and how impedances interrupt and starve components of the power they require.
  

• Dive deeper into the impedances caused by capacitors and inductors and, more importantly, how they interact.
  

• How to manage the impedance by a careful selection of capacitors.
  

We will use the iCD PDN Planner tool to see the results as we present them visually.

Learn More

Powering Up on Power Supplies, Part 1

Nine Dot Connects invites you to attend our new design series on power supply design. This video series was developed to provide an intuitive understanding of power design to get a feel for the concept. Our approach will be from the ground up, starting with the critical elements needed in the power supply and working our way to the structure and types of power supplies.

Our first video will focus on the common components of a power supply.

Topics include:

• An in-depth review of LRCs (primarily, the inductor and capacitor aspects)
  

• Parasitic effects of the LRCs
  

• Voltage and current sources
  

• Demonstration of the concepts using SPICE modeling in Altium Designer
  

Jeff Condit will present this design series as a senior engineer at Nine Dot Connects with over 40 years of electrical engineering experience. Jeff recently presented a 2-part series on high-speed PCB design. If you are interested in viewing these presentations, click here to view. Look for the webinar recordings for "High-Speed Design Series - EM/SI Part 2 and PCB/SI Part 3.

Future webinars in this design series will cover topics such as:

• Limitations and nonlinearities of inductors and transformers, such as B-H loops, winding resistance, and eddy and hysteresis losses
  

• Design criteria for transformers, inductors, and chokes
  

• Ideal basic power converter topologies and how they work (this includes where the current flows and when and what happens when things switch)
  

• SPICE simulations of MOSFET, a Schottky rectifier, and several sources for both buck and boost power designs
  

Learn More

Powering Up on Power Supplies, Part 2

Nine Dot Connects invites you to attend Part 2 of the "Power Supply Design Series." This video series was developed to provide an intuitive understanding of power design to get a feel for the concept. This session will build off the theory covered in Part 1 (recording below and to the right) and focus on specific power supply design-specific configurations. We will analyze two power circuits in the video, the buck and boost power circuits.

Topics include:

• An overview of how the circuit works
  

• A SPICE simulation (performed in Altium Designer)
  

• A PCB layout of the concept
  

Each circuit we analyze will have a Q and A portion to ensure that all aspects of the presented circuit have been covered.

Jeff Condit will present this design series as a principal engineer at Nine Dot Connects with over 40 years of experience in electrical engineering. Jeff presented the Part 1 of the current series last month and a 2-part series on high-speed PCB design a few months back. If you are interested in viewing these 2 part series, click here to view.

Learn More