A new platform and methodology for system-level design of next-generation FPGA-based digital SMPS

Increasing adoption of FPGAs in digital switched-mode power supply (SMPS) control is driving significant interest in improved platforms for development and commercial deployment. A new methodology for high-level system design of SMPS controllers is proposed and developed commercially. The feasibility, validity and accuracy of the approach is evaluated through the design and testing of a single-phase and three-phase DC-to-AC inverter. Simulation and experimental data are compared to demonstrate the high accuracy of the novel continuous time co-simulation interface. The user defined FPGA software, developed without requiring any knowledge of HDL languages, is then transferred to a COTS FPGA-chip-on-board SMPS control system for high-volume commercial deployment. The same graphical programming tools are used to develop an FPGA-based real-time SMPS hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulator for exhaustive validation testing of the control system hardware and software.