
1
Switching Power Supply Topology
Vol tage M ode vs. Current Mode
by: Robert Mammano
Unitrode IC Corporation has, since its inception,
been active in the development of leading-edge
control circuits to implement state-of-the-art pro-
gressions in power supply technology. Over the
years many new products have been introduced to
allow designers to readily apply new innovations in
circuit topologies. Since each of these new topolo-
gies purports to offer improvements over that which
was previously available, it is reasonable to expect
some confusion to be generated with the introduc-
tion of the UCC3570 - a new voltage-mode
controller introduced almost 10 years after we told
the world that current-mode was such a superior
approach.
The truth, however, is that there is no single topol-
ogy which is optimum for all applications. Moreover,
voltage-mode control - if updated with modern cir-
cuit and process developments - has much to offer
designers of today’s high-performance supplies and
is a viable contender for the power supply de-
signer’s attention.
To a n sw e r t h e q u e s t i o n a s t o w h i c h c i r c u it t o p ol og y
is best for a specific application, one must start with
a knowledge of both the advantages and disadvan-
tages of each approach. The following discussion
attempts to do this in a consistent way for these two
power supply control algorithms.
Vol tage Mode C ontrol
This was the approach used for the first switching
regulator designs and it served the industry well for
many years. The basic voltage mode configuration
is shown in Figure 1.
The major characteristics of this design are that
there is a single voltage feedback path, with pulse-
width modulation performed by comparing the
voltage error signal with a constant ramp waveform.
Current limiting must be done separately.
The advantages of voltage-mode control are:
1. A single feedback loop is easier to design and
analyze.
Design Note
DN-62
10/94
Figure 1. Voltage Mode Control
设计笔记
DN-62
开关电源拓扑结构
电压模式与电流模式的比较
作者:
Robert Mammano
自其创立之初起,
Unitrode IC
公司就活跃于尖端控制电路
的开发领域,旨在实现电源技术的最新发展。多年以来,
该公司推出了许多新产品,以使设计师能够容易地运用电
路拓扑结构中新颖的创新成果。由于这些新型拓扑结构均
声称较之此前可用的拓扑结构有所改善,因此预计随着
UCC3570
的推出人们将产生某些困惑,这是合乎情理的。
UCC3570
是一款新型电压模式控制器,它的推出距离我
们告知世界“电流模式是一种如此优越的方法”已经过去
了将近
10
年。
然而事实情况是:没有哪一种拓扑结构对于所有应用来说
都是最佳的。而且,如果电压模式控制凭借新式电路和工
艺进展得以更新,则将使当今的高性能电源设计师获益多
多,并成为电源设计师所关注的一种颇具竞争力的适用候
选方案。
对于某种特定的应用,哪种电路拓扑结构最合适呢?为了回
答这个问题,必须首先了解每种方法的优缺点。下面的讨论
试图以一种连贯的方法来阐明这两种电源控制算法的长处和
短处。
电压模式控制
这是最早的开关稳压器设计所采用的方法,而且多年来很好
地满足了业界的需要。基本的电压模式控制配置示于图
1
。
这种设计的主要特性是只存在一条电压反馈通路,而脉宽调
制是通过将电压误差信号与一个恒定斜坡波形进行比较来完
成的。电流限制必须单独执行。
电压模拟控制的优点是:
1.
采用单个反馈环路,因而比较容易设计和分析。
Switching Power Supply Topology
Vol tage M ode vs. Current Mode
by: Robert Mammano
Unitrode IC Corporation has, since its inception,
been active in the development of leading-edge
control circuits to implement state-of-the-art pro-
gressions in power supply technology. Over the
years many new products have been introduced to
allow designers to readily apply new innovations in
circuit topologies. Since each of these new topolo-
gies purports to offer improvements over that which
was previously available, it is reasonable to expect
some confusion to be generated with the introduc-
tion of the UCC3570 - a new voltage-mode
controller introduced almost 10 years after we told
the world that current-mode was such a superior
approach.
The truth, however, is that there is no single topol-
ogy which is optimum for all applications. Moreover,
voltage-mode control - if updated with modern cir-
cuit and process developments - has much to offer
designers of today’s high-performance supplies and
is a viable contender for the power supply de-
signer’s attention.
To a n sw e r t h e q u e s t i o n a s t o w h i c h c i r c u it t o p ol og y
is best for a specific application, one must start with
a knowledge of both the advantages and disadvan-
tages of each approach. The following discussion
attempts to do this in a consistent way for these two
power supply control algorithms.
Vol tage Mode C ontrol
This was the approach used for the first switching
regulator designs and it served the industry well for
many years. The basic voltage mode configuration
is shown in Figure 1.
The major characteristics of this design are that
there is a single voltage feedback path, with pulse-
width modulation performed by comparing the
voltage error signal with a constant ramp waveform.
Current limiting must be done separately.
The advantages of voltage-mode control are:
1. A single feedback loop is easier to design and
analyze.
Design Note
DN-62
10/94
Figure 1. Voltage Mode Control
图
1
:电压模式控制