Two trends, the use of fast, low-voltage devices in digital systems and the rapidly expanding array of portable electronic devices, are driving the demand for compact, low-cost switchmode power supplies. The design of these supplies relies on accurate analysis of parameters such as switching loss, magnetic flux density (B-H) analysis, and safe operating area within the supply. The Tektronix TDSPWR2 Power Measurement and Analysis Software package brings automated power measurements and documentation features to Tektronix' TDS5000 Series, the TDS7054, and the TDS7104 digital phosphor oscilloscopes (DPOs). The package is intended to allow engineers to easily perform critical power measurements (including pre-compliance tests to EN61000-3-2 standards) and bring their new designs to market quickly.
Digital system operating rates continue to escalate, a trend enabled in part by reducing the operating voltages of semiconductor components such as processors and memory devices. Today's IC devices operate at critical specific voltage levels, designers must analyse power supply switching waveforms, measure power losses at various points, determine the safe operating area (SOA), etc.
The TDSPWR2 application package integrates a host of automated measurement, display, and analysis features into the three TDS5000 Series models, the TDS7054, and the TDS7104 DPOs. All of these instruments offer high bandwidth, ample record length, and high waveform capture rate. Additionally, they are compatible with Tektronix' selection of current and differential probes via the intelligent TekProbe interface.
When TDSPWR2 is running, the screen display brings up a set of soft buttons and readouts optimised for the task. Automated measurements of switching device power losses and inductor/transformer core losses assist to summarise total power loss. 'High Power Finder' and 'Switching Finder' tools rapidly locate areas of high power dissipation, while the one-button 'Ripple Finder' automates time-consuming ripple tests. The safe operating area, too, is automatically determined; the oscilloscope allocates an appropriate amount of record length to capture the full duration of the event of interest.
The worldwide EN61000-3-2 standard requires detailed analysis of the harmonic content of the current waveform at the input of power supply. The package includes an automated series of tests that allow designers to confirm, in advance, that their power supply conforms to the standard.
Since documentation is uniquely important in the power supply design process, the TDSPWR2 software, which installs into the oscilloscopes' built-in Windows environment, generates reports in any user-configured format. In addition, measurement findings can be exported to analysis applications such as Excel and MathCAD.
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