Infineon Buck Simscape Example

Analog simulation of a 48V/12V DC/DC converter using detailed model of Infineon’s MOSFET by means of MathWorks Simscape™ Electrical™

This example is product of co-operation of Infineon and MathWorks (Rick Hyde and David John) engineers.

Motivation for usage of Simscape™ Electrical™ for Analog and Mixed-Signal Simulations

Traditionally, the analog simulations (used to explore electrical/thermal circuit aspects), utilizing very detailed SPICE models of electronic components, were performed by one of the numerous flavors of SPICE simulation tools. On the other side, control algorithms development (including automated code generation) that was supported by simplified components models to describe the behavior of plants, was done by means of MathWorks’ Simulink. Above described simulation approach, involving 2 separate (analog and digital) simulation flows (using 2 different simulation tools), was inevitable introducing a problem of exchanging the data between 2 simulation setups and interpreting of simulation results. Having introduced feature to convert SPICE netlists to Simscape™ Electrical™ equivalents, new possibilities open for the users of Simulink: instead of having “just” simplified models of electronic components to describe behavior of electrical power converters, the control algorithm developers now have a possibility to use both, detailed models of electronic components (converted SPICE models) and “standard” Simulink block sets within single simulation environment! This is a crucial improvement comparing to strictly separated simulation flows (analog and digital) as it was done in the past. New simulation approach overcomes numerous compatibility problems with different flavors of SPICE simulation tools and enables smooth exchange of the data between “analog world” (electronic plant model) and “digital part” (control algorithm) in order to get optimal performance of overall system, utilizing just single simulation setup.

Topics Shown in this Example

In this example is shown design of analog simulation of a 48V/12V DC/DC converter using detailed model of Infineon’s MOSFET by means of MathWorks Simscape™ Electrical™ technology. The electrical-thermal aspects of Infineon MOSFET models are explained and their implications on simulated system efficiency, electronic component losses and cooling system is explored – finally, the interaction between analog simulation of the power converter and digital simulation of voltage controller is elaborated, giving idea to user how to implement it for own development process.