Faculty Seminar Series – Ayman Fayed

When

April 21, 2014    
1:10 pm - 2:00 pm

Where

3043 ECpE Building Addition
Coover Hall, Ames, Iowa, 50011

Event Type

Ayman Fayed
Ayman Fayed

Title: Spur-Free Switching Power Converters for Analog and RF Loads

Speaker: Ayman Fayed, Northrop Grumman Assistant Professor

Abstract: The recent expansion in the use of mobile communication, navigation, and multimedia devices has fueled the demand for energy-efficient and low power implementations without compromising performance. A critical aspect of lowering the overall power consumption in these devices is the process of converting power from the battery to the various loads in the system. However, the large noise-sensitive analog/RF content in these devices is limiting the use of efficient power conversion schemes, such as switching power converters, due to the significant switching noise produced by such converters, which degrades the performance of analog/RF circuits. This forces the use of inefficient, but low-noise alternatives, such as linear power converters, leading to much higher power consumption. This presentation will discuss various power conversion techniques that are commonly used for powering noise-sensitive analog/RF loads and the advantages and shortcomings of each of them. We will then introduce the theoretical basis as well as the experimental results of a new RF-friendly switching mechanism for switching power converters that completely eliminates the inherent periodic switching noise at every node within these converters, leading to a spur-free operation. This enables powering of noise sensitive analog/RF circuits, such as RF PAs, directly from switching power converters without compromising mixing or interference specifications, and thus allowing for much higher overall power efficiency. The proposed switching mechanism can be incorporated within both PWM and PFM controllers to achieve highly efficient spur-free operation across the entire load range of the converter. Moreover, better SoC integration, effective power supply sharing, and significant reduction in EMI can be achieved using the proposed switching technique.

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