Microcontroller in POWER Electronics Applications (6)

The next factor in choosing an MCU is the On-Board Peripherals you get on the Chip. These days, Microcontrollers are so Loaded that this is almost a non-issue. But you need to find the Chip that has only as much Peripherals as you need. If you over spec your Chip Selection, you spend more on your Chip that you may be able to spend elsewhere. If, say you need to Run & Control an ACIM for example, you may need 3 or 6 PWM Modules. If you can do it with three and Generate the Complementary Signals with External Circuitry (along with adding Dead-Times), you should. But if you need the 6, 3 Phases and 3 Complementary, and don't want to add to the Circuit Complexity, you can do that too. It depends on your Design Choices which will in turn influence your Microcontroller Choice.

During Design Phase, you should use the variant with the Largest Program Memory, but in Production, you should choose the variant that has just Enough Space to fit your Program. This is also influenced by how much field upgradability do you need in your Design.

Now Communication, this is where it gets very tricky. Ethernet stack or CAN-Bus or RS-485, all are used for Communication but have different Target Environments. You should have this nailed before you go into the Microcontroller Selection Process. If you intend to use Wireless for any reason, your Design Parameters will change drastically.

In short, the Microcontroller Selection is dependent on your Project Requirements just like any other Component.

Miled Kafrouni

MKafronics Instruments

#Power_Electronics_Controllers