Here are some considerations and best
practices to optimize AEF circuit operation:
- If the EMI measurement with AEF
enabled is not performing as expected, probe the INJ pin voltage while the regulator
is switching. Verify that the INJ pin voltage is not getting clipped near the
positive or negative supply rails, as mentioned in step 2 of Section 2.4.
- If the INJ pin voltage is
getting clipped, increase the regulator-side Y-capacitance and/or the inject
capacitance. Then recheck the loop stability using the TPSF12C1 quickstart calculator or by simulation.
- The metallic chassis structure is a
critical part of the overall filter implementation. The filter PCB typically mounts
to the chassis structure using several screw attachments, and the chassis serves to
connect the various GND nodes on the filter PCB. These nodes are not explicitly
connected with copper on the PCB and instead rely on the chassis to complete the
electrical connection. As such, the chassis becomes the lowest impedance return path
for CM noise current.
- When testing a power stage
that includes a chassis as illustrated in Figure 3-2, CM noise can capacitively couple to the reference ground plane of the
EMI measurement setup and thus bypass a filter circuit that is not closely
referenced to this ground plane. In this case, TI recommends bonding the GND
plane copper of the filter EVM directly to the reference ground plane. This
also serves to minimize parasitic inductance in the GND connection to the
AEF circuit. CM current emanating from the power stage then gets
recirculated by the low shunt impedance of the filter Y-capacitors (both
active and passive), thus preventing noise from reaching the LISN.
- Based on the amplification of the
effective Y-capacitance, AEF allows reduction of the CM choke inductance while
maintaining the same LC corner frequency and CM attenuation characteristic. However,
a choke with reduced CM inductance and smaller size normally has a lower leakage
inductance, which is responsible for DM attenuation along with the X-capacitors.
- If the DM inductance is
significantly reduced with the smaller CM chokes, then increase the X
capacitance or add a small discrete inductor to obtain sufficient DM
attenuation. Otherwise, a high DM noise component (relative to the CM
component) can dominate the total noise measurement, therefore concealing
the impact of AEF on CM noise mitigation.
- Typical values for the sense and
inject capacitances are 680 pF and 4.7 nF, respectively. Depending on the final
implementation in the target application, the default damping and compensation
component values installed on the EVM can require modification by the user to
achieve acceptable loop stability. Ferrite chokes are inherently more
difficult to stabilize than their nanocrystalline equivalents.
- For additional context
pertaining to component selection and circuit optimization, refer to the
TPSF12C1 product data sheet and the TPSF12C1
quickstart calculator.