Reference Design

UCC38C42 25-Watt Self-Resonant

Reset Forward Converter

Reference Design
 UCC38C42 25-Watt Self-Resonant Reset Forward
Converter
Lisa Dinwoodie Power Supply Control Products

Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2 Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
3 Schematic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
4 Reference Design Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
5 Circuit Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
6 Performance Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
7 Caution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
8 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
9 List of Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

1 Introduction
This reference design presents a self-resonant reset forward converter using the UCC38C42 BiCMOS
Low-Power Current-Mode PWM Controller. The input voltage for this converter is compatible with the telecom
input voltage range of 36 VDC to 72 VDC. The converter is designed to operate at a switching frequency of
525 kHz, requires minimal parts, and supports an isolated 2.5-V 10-A output. The complete schematic, list of
materials, board layout, circuit description, and design performance curves are included.

2 Features
D Fixed Telecom Input Range: 36 VDC To 72 VDC
D 2.5-V Output Voltage
D 10-A Maximum Output Load, 1-A Minimum Output Load, Total 25-W Maximum Continuous Power
D High Efficiency 525-khz Switching Frequency
D Isolated Forward Topology
D Self-Resonant Reset
D Current Mode Control With Slope Compensation
D Soft Start
D Synchronization Input

2 UCC38C42 25-Watt Self-Resonant Reset Forward Converter

3 Schematic
Figure 1 shows the schematic of the design.

Figure 1. Self-Resonant Reset Forward Converter Utilizing the UCC38C42.

UCC38C42 25-Watt Self-Resonant Reset Forward Converter 3

4 Reference Design Layout

Figure 2. Top Layer Assembly

Figure 3. Top Layer

Figure 4. Bottom Layer

4 UCC38C42 25-Watt Self-Resonant Reset Forward Converter

5 Circuit Description
A brief description of the circuit elements follows:
D Transformer T1, coupled inductor T2, MOSFETS Q1, Q2, and Q5, input capacitor C1, output capacitors C6,
C7, C9, C20, C21, C22, C23, and C24, form the power stage of the converter. Q5 is the primary side switch.
Because of the low output voltage, Q1 and Q2 synchronous rectifiers are used on the secondary side
instead of conventional Schottky diodes.
D Power resistor R21 senses the primary switch current and converts this current into a voltage to be sensed
by the primary side controller current sense amplifier.
D Capacitor C26, combined with the reflected junction capacitance of the forward synchronous rectifier and
its snubber capacitor, the winding capacitance of T1, and the output capacitance of the primary switch, form
a resonant tank circuit that resets the transformer core.
D Capacitor C17 filters out high frequency noise on the output bus directly at the output terminals.
D Resistor R1 and capacitor C4 make up the voltage snubber for Q1. Resistor R10 and capacitor C5 provide
snubbing for Q2.
D Resistor R9 supplies the start up current to the primary side controller, U1. Operating current is provided
through an auxiliary winding on the coupled inductor T2 and rectified through diode D2, current limiting
resistor R4, and bulk capacitor C15. The IC is protected by clamping the bias voltage with zener diode D3.
D Decoupling to the IC is performed by C14 and C16 which should always be good quality low ESR/ESL type
capacitors placed as close to the IC pins as possible and returned directly to the IC ground reference.
D Transistor Q3, resistor R2, and capacitor C2 provide soft start.
D Resistor R18 and capacitor C8 provide a charge and discharge path for the internal oscillator, setting the
switching frequency of the controller. Resistor R22 provides a means of inserting an external
synchronization pulse into the circuit.
D Transistor Q4, resistors R17 and R14, and capacitor C10 add slope compensation to the current signal.
D Resistor R20 and capacitor C13 filter out leading edge current spikes which are caused by the reverse
recovery of the body drain diode of the secondary side switches, equivalent capacitive loading on the
secondary, and parasitic circuit inductances.
D The gate drive circuitry to the primary side switch is composed of the gate drive resistor R15 (necessary
for damping any oscillations resulting from the input capacitance of Q5 and any parasitic stray inductances)
and pull down resistor R16.
D The voltage sense feedback loop is comprised of the TLV431 voltage reference and error amplifier U3 and
the opto-isolator U2. Resistors R11 and R19 divide the output voltage for the comparator. Resistors R5 and
R13 and capacitors C11 and C18 set up a Type III compensator and provide the necessary gain poles and
zeros to stabilize the control loop. Resistors R7 and R3 set the gain across the isolation boundary. A well
regulated and filtered bias is supplied to the LED of the opto-isolator by way of an auxiliary winding on T2,
diode D1, resistor R6, capacitors C3, C12, and C25, and zener diode D4.

UCC38C42 25-Watt Self-Resonant Reset Forward Converter 5

6 Performance Data
The following figures show the performance of a circuit built as described. In Figure 5, efficiencies greater than
82% are achieved at minimum input voltage. In Figure 6 load regulation of approximately ±1% is achieved.
Figure 7 shows the output voltage range as a function of input line and output load.

EFFICIENCY LOAD REGULATION

vs vs
LOAD CURRENT LOAD CURRENT
90 1.5

80
1.0

Load Regulation – %
70 VIN = 36 V
Efficiency – %

VIN = 36 V
0.5
60 VIN = 48 V

50 0.0 VIN = 48 V
VIN = 72 V

40
–0.5 VIN = 72 V
30

0 –1.0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Output Load – A Output Load – A
Figure 5 Figure 6

OUTPUT VOLTAGE
vs
LOAD CURRENT
2.54

2.53

2.52 VIN = 36 V
Output Voltage – V

2.51

VIN = 48 V
2.50

2.49 VIN = 72 V

2.48

2.47
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Output Load – A
Figure 7

6 UCC38C42 25-Watt Self-Resonant Reset Forward Converter

 Figures 8 through 12 show the drain to source voltage of the main power switch. Channel 1 is the gate drive
waveform, channel 2 is the drain to source voltage. All of the magnetizing energy is fully recovered when the
drain to source voltage returns to the input voltage level.

VIN = 48 V, IOUT = 5 A VIN = 72 V, IOUT = 10 A

CH 1. CH 1.
10 V/div.
10 V/div.
CH 2.
50 V/div.
CH 2.
50 V/div.

t – time – 500 ns/div. t – time – 500 ns/div.

Figure 8 Figure 9

VIN = 72 V, IOUT = 1 A VIN = 36 V, IOUT = 1 A

CH 1. CH 1.
10 V/div. 10 V/div.

CH 2. CH 2.
50 V/div.
50 V/div.

t – time – 500 ns/div. t – time – 500 ns/div.

Figure 10 Figure 11

UCC38C42 25-Watt Self-Resonant Reset Forward Converter 7

 Output Ripple Voltage Waveform
VIN = 72 V, IOUT = 10 A
VIN = 32 V, IOUT = 10 A

CH 1.
10 V/div.
CH 1.
10 mV/div.
CH 2.
50 V/div.

t – time – 500 ns/div. t – time – 500 ns/div.

Figure 12 Figure 13

Output Transient Response to a Load Step

2.5 A to 7.5 A.

CH 1.
500 mV/div.

CH 4.
20 mV/div.

t – time – 2.5 ms/div.

Figure 14

7 Caution
This reference design contains high-voltage levels, those exceeding 75 V. These voltages are present at, but
not limited to, the drain node of the primary switch MOSFET. Proper precautions must be taken when working
with modules built to this design. Serious injury can occur if proper safety precautions are not followed.

8 References
UCC38C42 Data Sheet, BiCMOS Low-power Current-mode PWM Controller, TI Literature number SLUS458B.
Andreycak, Bill, The UCC38C42 Family of High-Speed, BiCMOS Current Mode PWM Controllers, TI Literature
Number SLUA257.

8 UCC38C42 25-Watt Self-Resonant Reset Forward Converter

9 List of Materials
Reference Qty Description Manufacturer Part Number
Capacitor C1 1 Ceramic, 4.7 µF, ±20%, 100 V, X7R, CKG57D TDK CKG57DX7R2A475M
C2 1 Ceramic, 2.2 µF, +80%/–20%, 10 V, Y5V, 0603 TDK C1608Y5V1A225Z
C3, C12 2 Ceramic, 10 µF, ±20%, 10 V, X5R, 1206 TDK C3216X5R1A106M
C4, C5 2 Ceramic, 2200 pF, ±10%, 100 V, X7R, 0805 TDK C2012X7R2A222K
C6, C7, C9, C20, 8 Ceramic, 47 µF, ±10%, 6.3 V, X5R, 1210 TDK C3225X5R0J476M
C21, C22, C23, C24
C8 1 Ceramic, 470 pF, ±5%, 50 V, C0G, 0603 TDK C1608COG1H471J
C10, C14, C16 3 Ceramic, 0.1 µF, ±10%, 50 V, X7R, 0603 TDK C1608X7R1H104K
C11 1 Ceramic, 0.022 µF, ±10%, 50 V, X5R, 0805 TDK C2012X7R1H223K
C13 1 Ceramic, 56 pF, ±5%, 50 V, C0G, 0603 TDK C1608COG1H560J
C15 1 Ceramic, 47 µF, ±20%, 25 V, X5R, CKG57D TDK CKG57DX5R1E476M
C17, C25 2 Ceramic, 1 µF, ±10%, 10 V, X5R, 0603 TDK C1608X5R1A105K
C18 1 Ceramic, 68000 pF, ±10%, 50 V, X7R, 0603 TDK C1608X7R1H683K
C26 1 Ceramic, 330 pF, ±10%, 250 V, C0G, 0603 TDK C1608COG2E331K
Diode D1, D2 2 Schottky, 75 V, 350 mW, SOD–123 Diodes, Inc. 1N4148W–7
D3 1 Zener, SMD, 16 V, 1 W, SMA Diodes, Inc. SMAZ16–13
D4 1 Zener, SMD, 6.2 V, 350 mW, SOT–23 Zetex, Inc. BZX84C6V2TA
Inductor L1 1 2 µH, RM5, SMD Pulse PB2118
MOSFET Q1, Q2 2 N–channel, 30 V, 50 A, 0.0029 Ω, LFPAK Hitachi HAT2099H
Transistor Q3 1 PNP, 60 V, 350 mW, SOT–23 Diodes, Inc. MMBT2907A–7
Q4 1 NPN, 40 V, 350 mW, SOT–23 Diodes, Inc. MMBT2222A–7
MOSFET Q5 1 N–channel, 200 V, 3 A, 0.130 Ω, SO–8 Fairchild FDS2670S
Resistor R1, R10 2 Thick film, 10 Ω, ±5%, 1/2 W, 2010 Panasonic – ECG ERJ–12ZYJ100U
R2, R3, R16 3 Thick film, 10 kΩ, ±5%, 1/16 W, 0603 Panasonic – ECG ERJ–3GEYJ103V
R4 1 Thick film, 20 Ω, ±5%, 1/10 W, 0805 Panasonic – ECG ERJ–6GEYJ200V
R5 1 Thick film, 750 Ω, ±1%, 1/16 W, 0603 Panasonic – ECG ERJ–3EKF7500V
R6 1 Thick film, 499 Ω, ±1%, 1/10 W, 0805 Panasonic – ECG ERJ–6ENF4990V
R7, R20 2 Thick film, 1.1 kΩ, ±5%, 1/16 W, 0603 Panasonic – ECG ERJ–3GEYJ112V
R9 1 Thick film, 86.6 kΩ, ±5%, 1/16 W, 0603 Panasonic – ECG ERJ–3EKF8662V
R11 1 Thick film, 12.1 kΩ, ±1%, 1/16 W, 0603 Panasonic – ECG ERJ–3EKF1212V
R13 1 Thick film, 909 Ω, ±5%, 1/16 W, 0603 Panasonic – ECG ERJ–3EKF9090V
R14 1 Thick film, 21.0 kΩ, ±1%, 1/16 W, 0603 Panasonic – ECG ERJ–3EKF2102V
R15 1 Thick film, 10 Ω, ±5%, 1/16 W, 0603 Panasonic – ECG ERJ–3GEYJ100V
R17 1 Thick film, 2.10 kΩ, ±1%, 1/16 W, 0603 Panasonic – ECG ERJ–3EKF2101V
R18 1 Thick film, 6.19 kΩ, ±1%, 1/16 W, 0603 Panasonic – ECG ERJ–3EKF6191V
R19 1 Thick film, 11.8 kΩ, ±1%, 1/16 W, 0603 Panasonic – ECG ERJ–3EKF1182V
R21 1 Thick film, 0.56 Ω, ±5%, 1 W, 2512 Panasonic – ECG ERJ–1WRQJR56U
R22 1 Thick film, 24 Ω, ±5%, 1/16 W, 0603 Panasonic – ECG ERJ–3GEYJ240V
Transformer T1 1 70 µH, RM–5–SMD, RM5 Pulse PB2063
Inductor T2 1 Coupled, 2 µH, RM5–SMD, RM5 Pulse PB2118
U1 1 BiCMOS Current Mode PWM Controller, Texas Instruments UCC38C42DGK
MICRO8_DGK8
U2 1 Optoisolator Trans Output, SO–8 Fairchild MOC207M
U3 1 Low Voltage Adjustable Shunt Reg, SOT–23–5 Texas Instruments TLV431AIDBVR

UCC38C42 25-Watt Self-Resonant Reset Forward Converter 9

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