FAIRCHILD AN-6005

www.fairchildsemi.com
AN-6005
Synchronous buck MOSFET loss calculations
with Excel model
Jon Klein
Power Management Applications
Abstract
High-Side Losses:
The synchronous buck circuit is in widespread use to
provide “point of use” high current, low voltage
power for CPU’s, chipsets, peripherals etc.
Typically used to convert from a 12V or 5V “bulk”
supply, they provide outputs as low as 0.7V for low
voltage CPUs made in sub-micron technologies.
The power loss in any MOSFET is the combination
of the switching losses and the MOSFET’s
conduction losses.
The majority of the power lost in the conversion
process is due to losses in the power MOSFET
switches. The profiles of loss for the High-Side and
Low-Side MOSFET are quite different.
These low output voltage converters have low duty
cycles, concentrating the majority of the conduction
loss in the low-side MOSFET.
PWM CONTROLLER
V IN
H igh-Side
Q1
SW N O D E
PMOSFET = PSW + PCOND
Q1 (Figure 1) bears the brunt of the switching losses,
since it swings the full input voltage with full current
through it. In low duty cycle converters (for
example: 12VIN to 1.8VOUT) switching losses tend to
dominate.
High-Side Conduction Losses:
Calculating high-side conduction loss is
straightforward as the conduction losses are just the
I2R losses in the MOSFET times the MOSFET’s duty
cycle:
PCOND = IOUT 2 • RDS(ON) •
L1
+
VOUT
VIN
(2)
where RDS(ON) is @ the maximum operating
MOSFET junction temperature (TJ(MAX) ).
VO UT
–
D1
(1)
The maximum operating junction temperature is
equation can be calculated by using an iterative
technique. Since
Low -S ide
Q2
Figure 1. Synchronous Buck output stage
For the examples in the following discussion, we will
be analyzing losses for the following synchronous
buck converter:
System Parameters
VIN
12
V
VOUT
1.5
V
IOUT
15
A
FSW
300
kHz
Table 1. Example Synchronous Buck
A spreadsheet to aid in the estimation of synchronous
buck losses is available on Fairchild’s web site on
(click here to download):
http://www.fairchildsemi.com/collateral/AN6005.zip. Operation of the spreadsheet is described
in the Appendix at the end of this document.
RDS(ON) rises with TJ
and
TJ rises with PD (dissipated power) and
PD is largely being determined by I2 x RDS(ON) .
The spreadsheet calculator iterates the die
temperature and accounts for the MOSFET's positive
RDS(ON) temperature coefficient. Iteration continues
in the "DieTemp" custom function until the die
temperature has stabilized to within 0.01°C.
High-Side Switching Losses:
The switching time is broken up into 5 periods (t1-t5)
as illustrated in Figure 3. The top drawing in Figure
3 shows the voltage across the MOSFET and the
current through it. The bottom timing graph
represents VGS as a function of time. The shape of
this graph is identical to the shape of the QG curve
contained in MOSFET datasheets, which assumes the
gate is being driven with a constant current. The QG
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Synchronous Buck Loss Calculation
AN-6005
notations indicate which QG is being charged during
the corresponding time period.
VIN
VDRIVE (VDD)
⎛ V •I
⎞
E t3 = t3 • ⎜ IN OUT ⎟
⎝
⎠
2
D
CRSS
RDRIVER
COSS
RGATE
HDRV G
CGS
SW
S
Figure 2. Drive Equivalent Circuit
C
C
ISS
C
RSS
(4)
During t4 and t5, the MOSFET is just fully
enhancing the channel to obtain its rated RDS(ON) at a
rated VGS. The losses during this time are very small
compared to t2 and t3, when the MOSFET is
simultaneously sustaining voltage and conducting
current, so we can safely ignore them in the analysis.
The switching loss for any given edge is just the
power that occurs in each switching interval,
multipied by the duty cycle of the switching interval:
ISS
V DS
S w itching losses
are in S haded
section
⎛ V •I
⎞
PSW = ⎜ IN OUT ⎟ (t2 + t3) (FSW )
⎝
⎠
2
(5)
Now, all we need to determine are t2 and t3. Each
period is determined by how long it takes the gate
driver to deliver all of the charge required to move
through that time period:
ID
V GS
Q GS
Q GD
4.5V
V SP
V TH
t2
t3
t4
t5
CISS = CGS + CRSS
Figure 3. High-Side Switching losses and QG
The switching interval begins when the high-side
MOSFET driver turns on and begins to supply
current to Q1’s gate to charge its input capacitance.
There are no switching losses until VGS reaches the
MOSFET’s VTH. therefore Pt1 = 0.
When VGS reaches VTH, the input capacitance (CISS) is
being charged and ID (the MOSFET’s drain current)
is rising linearly until it reaches the current in L1 (IL)
which is presumed to be IOUT. During this period (t2)
the MOSFET is sustaining the entire input voltage
across it, therefore, the energy in the MOSFET
during t2 is:
⎛ V •I
⎞
E t2 = t2 • ⎜ IN OUT ⎟
⎝
⎠
2
tx =
Q G(x)
(6)
I DRIVER
Most of the switching interval is spent in t3, which
occurs at a voltage we refer to as “VSP”, or the
“switching point” voltage. While this is not
specifically specified in most MOSFET datasheets, it
can be read from the Gate Charge graph, or
approximated using the following equation:
Q G (SW )
t1
(3)
Now, we enter t3. At this point, IOUT is flowing
through Q1, and the VDS begins to fall. Now, all of
the gate current will be going to recharge CGD. CGD is
similar to the “Miller” capacitance of bipolar
transistors, so t3 could be thought of as “Miller time”.
2
During this time the current is constant (at IOUT) and
the voltage is falling fairly linearly from VIN to 0,
therefore:
I
VSP ≈ VTH + OUT
GM
(7)
where GM is the MOSFET’s transconductance, and
VTH is its typical gate threshold voltage.
With VSP known, the gate current can be determined
by Ohm’s law on the circuit in Figure 2:
IDRIVER(L −H) =
IDRIVER(H−L ) =
VDD - VSP
RDRIVER(PULL -UP) + RGATE
(8A)
VSP
(8B)
RDRIVER(PULL-DOWN) + RGATE
The rising time (L-H) and falling times (H-L) are
treated separately, since IDRIVER can be different for
each edge.
The VGS excursion during t2 is from VTH to VSP.
Approximating this as VSP simplifies the calculation
considerably and introduces no significant error.
This approximation also allows us to use the QG(SW)
term to represent the gate charge for a MOSFET to
move through the switching interval. A few
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Synchronous Buck Loss Calculation
MOSFET manufacturers specify QG(SW) on their data
sheets. For those that don't, it can be approximated
by:
QG(SW ) ≈ QGD +
QGS
2
Driver dissipation calculates to :
(9)
PDR(H-L) =
500 * 5
= 147mW
2(8.5)
(11E)
PDR(L-H) =
500 * 2
= 91mW
2(5.5)
(11F)
so the switching times therefore are:
t S(L −H) =
tS(H−L ) =
PDRIVER = PDR(H-L) + PDR(L -H) = 238mW (11G)
QG(SW)
(10A)
IDRIVER(L -H)
2.
QG(SW)
(10B)
IDRIVER(H-L)
PCOSS ≈
The switching loss discussion above can be
summarized as:
(
)
⎛ V XI
⎞
PSW = ⎜ IN OUT ⎟ (FSW ) t S(L -H) + t S(H − L ) (10C)
⎝
⎠
2
There are several additional losses that are typically
much smaller than the aforementioned losses.
Although their proportional impact on efficiency is
low, they can be significant because of where the
dissipation occurs (for example, driver dissipation).
They are listed in order of importance:
1.
The power to charge the gate:
(11A)
Note that PGATE is the power from the VDD supply
required to drive a MOSFET gate. It is independent
of the driver's output resistance and includes both the
rising and falling edges.
PGATE is distributed between RDRIVER, RGATE, and
RDAMPING propoprtional to their resistances.
Dissipation in the driver for the rising edge is:
PGATE • RDRIVER(PULL -UP)
2(RTOTAL )
(11B)
RTOTAL = RDRIVER + RGATE + RDAMPING
(11C)
Similarly, dissipation in the driver for the falling edge
is:
PGATE • RDRIVER(PULL -DOWN)
2(RTOTAL )
(11D)
For an output stage (Driver + MOSFET) with the
following parameters:
PGATE
RDRIVER (PULL-UP)
RDRIVER (PULL-DOWN)
RDAMPING
RGATE
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500
5
2
2
1.5
mW
Ω
Ω
Ω
Ω
(11H)
where COSS is the MOSFETs output capacitance,
(CDS +CDG).
3.
If an external schottky is used across Q2, the
Schottky’s capacitance needs to be charged
during the high-side MOSFET’s turn-on:
PC(SCHOTTKY) =
CSCHOTTKY • VIN2 • FSW
2
(12A)
If a Schottky diode is not used:
4.
Reverse recover power for Q2’s body diode:
(12B)
where QRR is the body diode’s reverse recovery
charge. If the MOSFET contains an integrated body
diode (like SyncFET™), the QRR figure in the
datasheet is actually QOSS, or the charge required by
the MOSFET’s COSS . If a SyncFET™ is used, then
set QRR to 0 in the companion spreadsheet.
Low-Side Losses
Low-side losses (PLS) are also comprised of
conduction losses and switching losses.
PLS = PSW + PCOND
where
PDR(H-L) =
C oss • VIN2 • FSW
2
PQRR = QRR • VIN • FSW
PGATE = QG X VDD X FSW
PDR(L -H) =
The power to charge the MOSFET’s output
capacitance:
(13)
Switching losses are negligible, since Q2 switches on
and off with only a diode drop across it, however for
completeness we will include the analysis.
Conduction losses for Q2 are given by:
PCOND = ( 1 − D ) X IOUT 2 X R DS(ON)
(14)
where RDS(ON) is the RDS(ON) of the MOSFET at the
anticipated operating junction temperature and
D=
VOUT
VIN
is the duty cycle for the converter.
The junction temperature (TJ) of the MOSFET can be
calculated if the junction to ambient thermal
resistance (θJA) and maximum ambient temperature
are known.
3
Synchronous Buck Loss Calculation
TJ = TA + (PLS • θ JA )
AN-6005
(15)
PCOND dominates PLS. Since RDS(ON) determines
PCOND , and is a function of TJ, either an iterative
calculation can be used, or TJ can be assumed to be
some maximum number determined by the design
goals. The calculations in the accompanying
spreadsheet use TA and θJA iteratively to determine
the low-side operating TJ at full current, assuming a
MOSFET RDS(ON) temperature coefficient of
0.4%/°C, which is typical for the MOSFETs used in
this application.
the RDS(ON) is typically 110% of the specified RDS(ON)
.
The rising edge transition times for the low-side (t2
and t3 in Figure 4) can now be calculated from the
RC equations.
t2R = K 2R (R DRIVER + R GATE ) CISS
where
⎞
⎛
⎛
⎞
VDRIVE
VDRIVE
K 2R = ln⎜
⎟ − ln⎜
⎟ (17B)
⎝ VDRIVE − VTH ⎠
⎝ VDRIVE − VSP ⎠
t3R = K 3R (R DRIVER + R GATE ) CISS
where
Low-side Switching Losses
C
(17D)
– IO U T
x R D S (O N )
ID
and where CISS is the MOSFET’s input capacitance
(CGS + CGD) when VDS is near 0V. If the MOSFET
datasheet has no graph of capacitance vs. VDS, use
1.25 times the typical CISS value, which is usually
given with ½ of the rated VDS across the MOSFET.
V DS
– 0.6
– IO U T
t2
t3
The turn-off losses are the same, but in reverse, so
the switching waveforms are:
V D R IV ER
V SP
V GS
C
0.9 x V S P EC
ISS
0
V TH
– I x R D S (O N )
ID
V DS
– 0.6
t
–I
Figure 4. Low-Side turn-on switching loss
waveforms
t3
Low-side switching losses for each edge can be
calculated in a similar fashion to high-side switching
losses:
PSW(LS) ≈
VF + IOUT • 1.1• RDS(ON) ⎞
⎛
⎜ t2 • VF + t3 •
⎟ IOUT • Fsw
2
⎝
⎠
IOUT
@ VGS = VSP, to 90% of VSPEC, the gate voltage
t2
t1
V D R IV ER
0.9 x V S P EC
V SP
V GS
V TH
(16)
but instead of VIN as in eq. 3, we use VF , the schottky
diode drop (approximated as 0.6V) in the equation.
Also, there is almost no Miller effect for the low-side
MOSFET, since VDS is increasing (becoming less
negative) as we turn the device on, the gate driver is
not having to supply charge to CGD. The voltage
collapse for Q2 is caused by the RDS(ON) going from
0 .6
(17C)
⎞
⎛
⎞
⎛
VDRIVE
VDRIVE
K 3R = ln⎜
⎟
⎟ − ln⎜
V
0
.
9
V
V
V
−
−
⎝ DRIVE
⎝ DRIVE
SPEC ⎠
SP ⎠
ISS
0
t1
(17A)
t
Figure 5. Low-Side turn-off switching loss
waveforms
The falling edge transition times for the low-side
(t3 and t2 in Figure 5) can now be calculated from the
RC equations:
t3F = K 3F (R DRIVER + R GATE ) CISS
(18A)
where
for the highest specified RDS(ON) . At 90% of VSPEC
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AN-6005
Synchronous Buck Loss Calculation
t TH ≈
(18B)
t2F = K 2F (R DRIVER + R GATE ) C ISS
where
⎛V ⎞
K2F = ln⎜ SP ⎟
⎝ VTH ⎠
(18C)
PDIODE = tDEADTIME • FSW • VF • IOUT
(19)
where tDEADTIME = tDEADTIME(R) + tDEADTIME(F), which
are the deadtimes associated before the SW Node
(Figure 1) rises, after Q2 turns off, and after SW
Node falls, before Q2 turns on, respectively.
To determine tDEADTIME, we need to consider how the
driver controls the MOSFET gate drives. Most
drivers use "adaptive dead-time circuits, which wait
for the voltage of the opposite MOSFET to reach an
"off" voltage before beginning to charge its own
MOSFET. Most drivers add a fixed delay to prevent
shoot-through, especially on the low to high
transition.
HDRV
H.S. MOSFET
ILDRV
G
RDamping
RDRIVER
(21)
Q GS
.
2
The diode's total on-time on the falling edge is then:
t DEADTIME(F) ≈ t DELAY(F) +
Q GS (R GATE + RDRIVER )
VTH ⎞
⎛
⎜ VDRIVER −
⎟
⎝
2 ⎠
(22)
On the rising edge, tDELAY(R) is usually much longer to
allow the low-side MOSFET’s gate to discharge
completely. This is necessary since charge is coupled
into the low-side gate during the rising edge of the
SW node. The peak of the resultant voltage “spike”
at the low-side gate is the sum of the amplitude of the
injected spike and the voltage the gate has discharged
to when the SW node begins to rise. Sufficient delay
is necessary to avoid having the resultant peak rise
significantly above the low-side’s VTH , turning on
both MOSFETs, and inducing “shoot-through”
losses.
6
RGATE
14
12
5
SW NODE VOLTAGE
CGS
10
4
VGS
1V LDRV
⎛V ⎞
VDRIVER − ⎜⎜ TH ⎟⎟
⎝ 2 ⎠
≈
R GATE + R DRIVER
and typically Q G( TH) ≈
CGD
40nS
(20)
This approximation holds, since prior to reaching
threshold, the gate voltage is low enough that ILDRV
can be approximated with a constant current of
(18D)
Dead-Time (Diode Conduction) Losses
The dead-time is the amount of time that both
MOSFETs are off. During this time the diode (body
diode or parallel schottky diode) is in forward
conduction. It's power loss is:
Q GS
2 • ILDRV
8
LS MOSFET GATE
3
6
4
2
Figure 6. Typical Adaptive Gate drive (low-high
transition)
For the tDEADTIME(F) the diode will be conducting the
full load current from the time the switch node falls,
until the Low-side MOSFET reaches threshold. This
"deadtime" consists of 2 portions:
1.
2.
tDELAY(F) : The driver’s built in delay time from
detection of 1VGS at the high-side MOSFET
gate until beginning of low-side MOSFET turnon, plus
tTH : the time for the driver to charge the lowside MOSFET's gate to reach threshold (VTH).
tTH can be approximated by:
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V
⎛ 0.9VSPEC ⎞
K3F = ln⎜
⎟
⎝ VSP ⎠
2
1
0
0
-2
0
20
40
60
80
t (nS)
Figure 7. Coupled voltage spike on Low-side
MOSFET gate from SW node rising edge
The other component of deadtime on the rising edge
is the time it takes for the high-side MOSFET’s gate
to charge to VSP. This is typically less than 10% of
tDELAY(R) so we will ignore it and set:
tDEADTIME(R) ≈ tDELAY(R)
(23)
5
Synchronous Buck Loss Calculation
AN-6005
Summary of results
A spreadsheet which contains MOSFET parameters
is used to compute the losses for our example circuit
(Table 1) using a 5V gate drive with 6Ω pull-up and
2Ω pull-down strength.
MOSFET
Switching Loss
Conduction Loss
Other Losses
Total Losses
Output Power
Efficiency
High-Side Low-Side
FDD6644 FDB6676 Total
1.09
0.31
1.40 W
0.21
1.15
1.36 W
0.26 W
1.30
1.46
3.02 W
22.5 W
88%
Table 2. Results for 15A example (Table 1)
It’s instructive to review the results in order to
observe a few key points:
•
Switching losses for the low-side MOSFET are
only 15% of low-side MOSFET’s total losses.
•
Unless the switching frequency is very high
(above 1 Mhz.), the loss contribution due to
diode conduction (deadtime loss) is minimal.
•
High-side losses are dominated by switching
losses since the duty cycle is low.
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Appendix: Using the efficiency and loss calculation spreadsheet tool
The spreadsheet is contained in the following file:
http://www.fairchildsemi.com/collateral/AN-6005.zip
The spreadsheet implements the loss calculations described in this app note. To see the sheet in action press the
"Run" button on the "EfficiencySummary" sheet.
The controller/driver database models several Fairchild products driver products. A listing of these is found in the
ControllerDriver tab.
These detailed instructions can also be found in the " General Instructions" tab of the spreadsheet:
Notes:
Be sure to turn off Macro Protection in Excel to allow the custom functions and macros in this sheet to run.
For Excel 2000, this is done through "Tools|Macro|Security". Set the level to "low".
In Excel 97, you can do this through "Tools|Options. In the "General" tab, the "Macro Virus Protection" box
should not be checked.
DieTemp function
RDS(ON) is a function of die temperature, and the die temperature is a function of Power Dissipation which is in
turn dependent on RDS(ON). To solve for dissipation or die temperature, the conduction loss calculations in
this spreadsheet use an iterative calculation method to arrive at the die temperature and dissipation.
Tabs
Definitions
Function / Description
Provides guidance on what MOSFET parametric data to enter in the "MOSFETDatabase" tab. This sheet is a
hotlink destination from some of the column headings in the MOSFETDatabase table.
EfficiencyChart
LossChart
ControllerDriver
Plots efficiency data from the table in EfficiencySummary tab.
Plots power loss data from the table in EfficiencySummary tab.
Database for the IC Controllers. Fairchild's portable PWM controllers are featured in this database. Any
controller can be added by using the "Add" button and filling in the appropriate fields.
Database for the MOSFETs. Many popular Fairchild MOSFETs are featured in this database. Any MOSFET
can be added by using the "Add" button and filling in the appropriate fields.
The main sheet where the system requirements and MOSFET choices can be entered, and the data is stored
for graphing. To run the graphing routine, push the "RUN" button at the top of the sheet.
MOSFETDatabase
EfficiencySummary
Output
The calculations contained in the "Synchronous buck MOSFET loss calculations" app note are programmed
into this sheet. The EfficiencySummary macro uses this sheet as its calculator. If a particular operating point
needs to be examined in more detail, then use this sheet, and enter the parameters by hand. Be sure to save a
copy of this workbook before overwriting formulas in "Output" tab.
Cells are color coded as follows:
Indicates user input parameters
Indicates calculated values that can be overwritten with selected values if desired.
These fields default to the calculated value directly above them.
These fields are written into, or contain formulae that were input on the "EfficiencySummary" sheet.
Macro Security Note:
"AN-6005 Switching Loss Calculation.xls" uses macros extensively. For the spreadsheet to operate properly, check
the “Always trust macros from this source” box if a security warning appears, then click the “Enable Macros”
button..
This is only required the first time you run a Fairchild spreadsheet tool with macros.
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