Microcontroller in POWER Electronics Applications (5)

The first factor in choosing an MCU is your comfort, or if you work in a Company, that has an existing Code Base and Supply Chain, with a particular vendor or Architecture, you should stick with it.

These days, Microcontroller Manufacturers don't Specialize in a particular Application and most Architectures will have various mixes of Peripherals so you can choose a particular Chip for the Architecture, whose Code base your Company has worked on, that fulfills your Requirements.

So now, let's see some Engineering Requirements you may have. First, let's look at Cost. Most Small Microcontrollers have a Single Voltage for Supply, but more Complex ones can have one Supply for the Core and one for Digital Outputs, with maybe another for Analog Peripherals. If the Voltage Levels are different, this can add to the overall Cost of the Electronics Design, since you would need more Regulators, and other Associated Circuitry. Same Applies if you have Voltage Signals of different Levels that need to interface with each other. You would need to add Voltage Level Converter or Isolators.

All these not only add Cost to your BOM, but also occupy PCB Real Estate which Costs Money and Design Time. So, for example, if you can find Gate Drivers that Operate at the same Voltage Levels as your Microcontroller, this can Reduce some Cost. But for some Power Electronics Applications you can't help but use a Costly Chip, so you should be able to recognize when you need them and when you don't.

Miled Kafrouni

MKafronics Instruments

#Power_Electronics_Controllers