Optimizing Regulator Output Capacitance (Part 2): Using Load Slammers

Focus:

This second part of the article discusses how to use load slammers effectively to design, evaluate, debug, and validate your on-board power converter. In its 6+ pages, this part dispenses extensive advice on the issues that come into play when testing point-of-load regulators with load slammers. The article begins by reviewing the different approaches to designing point-of-load regulators to make the point that designers will have to perform load testing, whether they designed it using vendor tools or app notes, or got an FAE to do it. It then discusses what Bode analyzers can tell the designer about regulator loop performance and transient response versus what the load slammer reveals--small signal vs large signal issues. Covered next are issues such as load step versus load release, load step size, starting load, modulation method, loop bandwidth and performance enhancing circuits. Next, come details on the physical placement of the slammer in circuit and related test setup details, discussion of voltage and current measurement and some calibration issues. The last sections discuss load slammer strengths, additional tests they can perform, and some notes of caution.

What you’ll learn:

• How to understand what tests load slammers can and cannot do in testing power converters
• How to understand key power converter design and test issues affecting use of load slammers
• How to make the physical test setups and configure instruments properly when using load slammers

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Author & Publication:

David Baretich, ProGrAnalog, Portland, Oreg., How2Power Today, Sep 14 2018

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