Xilinx helps ON Semiconductor's smart power module platform to be faster and more efficient

ON Semiconductor’s intelligent power modules (IPM) and integrated power modules are manufactured for effective motor control. They are suitable for high voltage and high operating temperature, and reduce the space of the drive. Higher switching frequency helps improve efficiency and exceeds the capabilities of traditional motor control solutions.

This is why MCUs with algorithms in software cannot optimize new technologies. Fast switching using advanced algorithms in dedicated logic can control the rotating magnetic field of the motor, thereby maximizing efficiency. Through the motor control function in Xilinx Zynq-7000 SoC, the system can be designed to achieve the best performance. No matter what is running inside the Xilinx SoC, the speed of the control loop is always predictable. The Arm core in the processing system makes the device intelligent and can be used in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).

The energy efficiency of the motor plays a vital role. The operating efficiency of many motors is only about 44%, that is, more than half of the energy consumption is not converted into motion. In order to maintain a precise magnetic field, Xilinx can implement control cycle times in the sub-microsecond range in its programmable logic. Even when the load conditions change, the speed can accurately control high-speed motors. IPM's low RDSon helps simplify thermal design, reduce passive components, and therefore reduce weight in a smaller size.

Now available: Motor Development Kit (MDK) with ON Semiconductor power stage and Xilinx SoC

Use the new Motor Development Kit (MDK) to simplify the beginning of the design. This is a flexible solution that includes

Trenz Electronics' new universal controller board (UCB)

ON Semiconductor's new motor power supply board

Suitable for motors below 1kW (Q4 / 2020)

Suitable for motors below 4kW (Q4 / 2020)

Suitable for motors below 8 kW (included with Q1/2021)

In addition, the power board will also use 16V / 30V / 60V / 100V MOSFET (Q1/2021) for applications ranging from 600W to 1.2kW. In addition, in the future, ON Semiconductor will also provide silicon carbide products for this purpose.

The Xilinx component on UCB is Z-7020 (Zynq-7000 SoC), which is used for motor control in dedicated logic and applications on Arm Cortex-A9. The board size is very small, only 65mm x 44mm.

UCB equipment:

10-channel differential ADC

12 PWM channels

ETH PHY and USB OTG

Off-board: CAN (requires external transceiver)

USB to JTAG/UART interface for configuration/debugging

Figure 1: Universal Control Board (UCB)

Since Xilinx Z-7020 SoC has a large amount of internal module RAM, and has resources for custom analysis functions, DSP modules and Arm Cortex-A9 cores, UCB is very suitable for acquiring data at a high sampling rate and running custom analysis motors. This is the driving force of IIoT functions such as continuous monitoring and predictive maintenance.

This is an example of the appearance of the kit: UCB and the 4 kW power board form a small form factor unit (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: 4kW power stage module and UCB MDK

Even the original power board covers a wide range of target applications, such as:

Industrial Automation Drive

robot technology

electrical tools

White goods (home appliances)

HVAC

Water pump

Electric fan

This kit does not have a bundled motor, so you can match it as you like.

Figure 3: Motor development kit series

The Xilinx Vitis unified software platform provides developers with all the tools needed to design control algorithms with required performance using code in high-level languages ​​(such as C and C++). This is the best way to quickly create differentiated solutions .

In addition to the simple GUI for quick setup (Figure 4), another benefit is that you can use the Open Source Framework PYNQ, which is a quick way to add analysis and use the Python library, which makes the options for configuring, monitoring and predicting motor conditions change It's infinite.

Figure 4: Simple motor control GUI

Here are the differences of the new MDK implemented with Xilinx Zynq700:

Designed for development, not just for Demo

Contains Xilinx Zynq-7000 SoC (Z-7020)

Scalable across multiple power ranges

Universal control board suitable for production

Fast control loop for high power efficiency

Xilinx tool flow differentiation capabilities

Ideal architecture for IIoT, including Edge Analytics integrated in SoC

Prepare for ON Semiconductor's future power supply boards (even SiC)

MDK combines previous experience and can be used to evaluate variable speed motor inverter solutions and has the ability to focus on differentiated functions from the beginning.