An Ingenious Power Architecture Increases Efficiency and Reduces the Size of AC/DC Converters

 For years, AC/DC converters with a quasi-resonant (QR) or active clamp flyback (ACF) architecture have been devised for low power applications (output power < 100W). QuarEgg+, a proprietary power architecture for AC/DC converters, was recently unveiled by Eggtronic, a business located in San Francisco and Modena (Italy) that was created in 2012 and is based in San Francisco and Modena (Italy). QuarEgg+, which is an alternative to traditional QR and ACF topologies, may give flat efficiency curves even at low loads and low standby power.

Because the controller waits for one of the troughs in the drain voltage before switching on, there is no set switching frequency in quasi-resonant converters. The resonant frequency determines the time between the device turning off and the first valley, whereas the controller determines the time between the device turning on and the device turning off. Despite the fact that QR converters can minimize turn-on losses and increase efficiency, they suffer when the load has a large dynamic range. The switching frequency increases with lighter loads, resulting in increased switching losses.

The problem may be remedied by utilizing an ACF converter, which ensures that a maximum switching frequency is never exceeded by switching on one of the valleys at the same time. However, this comes at a larger price.

QuarEgg+ architecture by Eggtronic.

The new Eggtronic architecture is especially well suited for power applications, ranging from adapters and fast chargers for mobile devices and laptops to power supplies for loudspeakers and smart home assistants, by maximizing performance, minimizing form factor, and enhancing dependability.

"Our system offers a power density of about 25W/inch3, maximizing efficiency at both full and light loads, which is infamously reduced as power density increases. This was the actual outcome of QuarEgg+ "Eggtronic's CEO and creator, Igor Spinella, said.

AC/DC Converters

Figure 1 depicts the fundamental block diagram of the QuarEgg+ topology.

QuarEgg+ achieves a relatively flat efficiency curve from very light load to full load while operating in Zero Voltage Switching (ZVS) mode over the entire load range. At high load, up to 95%, and at light load, up to 92 percent. The ultra-low standby power of less than 15 mW significantly reduces the power usage. Furthermore, eliminating a high-voltage, high-side clamping MOSFET reduces component count and enhances reliability, while smooth transient response decreases EMI and simplifies filtering.

Figure 2 shows a comparison of the efficiency curves for the QuarEgg+ solution and a regular QR Flyback. In order to measure the gain in performance that is directly attributed to QuarEgg+ employing a cost-optimized Bill of Materials, this comparison is done using the identical silicon MOSFETs, electrolytic capacitors, and magnetic core.

The efficiency curve stays almost flat even under extremely mild load circumstances. "Our objective was to boost peak efficiency while maintaining it as consistent as possible over the whole load range," Igor Spinella explained.

Even with low-cost components, the efficiency is more than 90% at 5V with an output power of 1-2W (out of nominal output power of 45W), hence the efficiency curve is almost flat.

Eggtronic has already created QuarEgg+ demo boards, which are available with GaN MOSFETs as well as regular silicon MOSFETs. The difference in efficiency between utilizing GaN devices and not using GaN devices is 0.5 percent to 1% depending on the GaN used. This is because, with a ZVS design, high-efficiency levels may be achieved without the usage of GaN power components.

The following are the primary advantages of QuarEgg+:

Efficiencies are improved in medium and high-load situations.

When the load is less than 10%, performance improves.

In power delivery (PD) applications and no-load scenarios, power consumption drops to 15 mW at 115 VAC and less than 30 mW at 230 VAC.

The QuarEgg+ method employs an additional MOSFET on the secondary side compared to a quasi-resonant converter.

However, because additional characteristics like as power distribution (PD) and the lack of controllers on the primary side are integrated into the solution, the cost does not rise when compared to the QR converter. The controller is on the secondary side in the QuarEgg+ architecture, as depicted in Figure 1. Finally, the relative cost is comparable to that of a QR converter (Figure 3).

QuarEgg+ achieves the best efficiency level under light load situations (power less than 1W), as shown in Figure 3, while retaining peak efficiency equivalent to an Active Clamp solution and high power density.

The solution is USB 3.1 PD-ready thanks to the integrated power delivery (24V and 48V).

Unlike a QR converter, which has low voltage switching on the primary side at full load and hard switching on the secondary side at mid/light load, QuarEgg+ features Zero Voltage Switching (ZVS) on the primary side at all load circumstances.

There are also the following benefits:

EMI performance has improved

Filters are necessary.

Valleys that have been drained are not penalized.

Low-load efficiency is remarkable.

Applications

Where QR or ACF topologies were previously used, the QuarEgg+ architecture is used. It's a great option for applications that don't require a power factor corrector circuit (PFC) and can handle up to 75W.

At the same time, according to Igor Spinella, "our QuarEgg+ solution delivers the same performance as an ACF converter (which struggles in light load) at the same cost as a QR converter."

Laptop chargers (up to 75W; no PFC required), consumer electronics, mobile device chargers, and low-power devices are all examples of relevant applications. Because these devices spend the majority of their time in light load circumstances, QuarEgg+ can save a substantial amount of energy.

Eggtronic will provide both GaN-based and silicon-based QuarEgg+ mass-production-ready demo boards with power outputs of 35 W, 45 W, and 70 W to aid in the development of AC/DC applications based on QuarEgg+ technology. USB PD (single or dual output), fixed voltage, and CC-CV are all available as output choices. There will also be development boards, integrated power controllers, a variety of patented magnetic components, and extensive technical support.

flexi 8.1 Software Getting Started with Toolbars

 The illustration below shows some of the basic elements of your software:

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Toolbars

Toolbars are a set of commands grouped according to their function.
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Standard toolbar

Showing or Hiding a Toolbar

  1. From the View menu, select Toolbars.
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  2. Check or uncheck the toolbars that you want to show or hide. Or (Windows only):
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  3.  Right-click the area around the design area where the toolbars are docked.
  4.  In the menu, select or unselect the toolbar that you want to show or hide.
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    􀀕 You can also hide a toolbar by clicking the Close button on the upper right side of the toolbar.
In Windows, toolbars are docked or floating. Docked toolbars are placed at fixed positions around the design area. Floating toolbars can be placed anywhere in the design area. You can undock a toolbar, making it a floating toolbar, and then place it at any location in the design area. Macintosh toolbars are always floating.
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Docked Toolbars

How to Unlocking a Toolbar

Do one of the following:

  • Drag the toolbar from its docked position. (Do not drag buttons).
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  • Double-click the toolbar. (Do not double-click buttons).
􀀕 Dragging or double-clicking the buttons will not undock or dock the toolbar.

The shape of a floating toolbar can be adjusted by dragging its borders.

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The standard toolbar in different shapes

When a button has a small triangle on the upper right corner, is an indication that this button is a part of a tear-off palette.

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Using the Tools in a Tear-Off Palette

  • Click once on the button and drag it slightly to display the full palette.
  •  Once it is displayed, you can either select the desired tool and release the mouse button, displaying the new tool, or drag the entire palette away from the original palette and release the mouse to drop it on the drawing area.
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All 99 Shortcuts for FlexiSign Pro 8.1


 

1. Alignment Shortcuts

  • Ctrl+5             Align Both Centers
  • Ctrl+Shift+5       Align Both Centers to Page
  • Ctrl+2            Align Bottom
  • Ctrl+Shift+2      Align Bottom to Page
  • Ctrl+3            Align Horizontal Centers
  • Ctrl+Shift+3   Align Horizontal Centers to Page
  • Ctrl+4           Align Left
  • Ctrl+Shift+4   Align Left to Page
  • Ctrl+6           Align Right
  • Ctrl+Shift+6   Align Right to Page
  • Ctrl+0           Align Text Baselines
  • Ctrl+8           Align Top
  • Ctrl+Shift+8   Align Top to Page
  • Ctrl+7          Align Vertical Centers
  • Ctrl+Shift+7  Align Vertical Centers to Page

2. Arrangement

  • Ctrl+PgDn                Back One
  • Ctrl+M                         Compound
  • Ctrl+Shift+O                 Convert to Outlines
  • V                                 Convert to Outlines
  • Ctrl+PgUp                  Forward One
  • Ctrl+G                         Group
  • Ctrl+E                         Redraw
  • F5                                 Redraw
  • Ctrl+D                         Repeat
  • Ctrl+K                         Resize
  • Ctrl+Shift+D                 Reverse Path Direction
  • Ctrl+R                         Rotate
  • J                                  Spacing
  • Shift+PgDn                 To Back
  • Shift+PgUp                 To Front

3. Palettes

  • M         Color Mixer
  • Ctrl+I Design Central
  • E         Design Editor
  • I         Fill/Stroke Editor

4. Path Editing

  • N      Select Point Tool
  • P       Bezier Path Tool
  • +       Add Point
  • -       Remove Point

5. Selection

  • A                          Select Tool
  • Backspace          Clear
  • Delete                 Clear
  • Ctrl+C                 Copy
  • F3                         Copy
  • Ctrl+Insert         Copy
  • F2                         Cut
  • Ctrl+X                    Cut
  • Shift+Backspace Delete Now
  • Shift+Delete         Delete Now
  • Ctrl+Shift+A         Deselect
  • Ctrl+Shift+I         Invert Selection
  • Shift+Insert         Paste
  • Ctrl+V                 Paste
  • F4                         Paste
  • Ctrl+Y                 Redo
  • Ctrl+Shift+Y         Redo Multiple
  • Ctrl+A                 Select All
  • D                         Select by Attributes
  • F1                     Undo
  • Ctrl+Z                 Undo
  • Ctrl+Shift+Z         Undo Multiple

8. View Shortcuts

  • Ctrl+Tab          Next Window
  • Spacebar          Pan View
  • Ctrl+F          Show Fills
  • F                  View Filter
  • Z                 Zoom
  • Ctrl+=          Zoom In
  • Ctrl+-          Zoom Out

9. Other Shortcuts

Esc                         Cancel Edit
Ctrl+F4                 Close
Ctrl+W                 Close
Alt+F4                 Exit
F1 Help                 Topics
Ctrl+N                 New
Ctrl+O                 Open
Ctrl+Q                 Quit
Ctrl+S                 Save
Ctrl+Shift+S         Save As

10. Miscellaneous Shortcuts

Ctrl+L             Cut/Plot or Engrave
Ctrl+B             Document Setup
Ctrl+P             Print
Ctrl+Shift+P     Print Setup (Page Setup on Macintosh)
Ctrl+H             RIP and Print
Ctrl)+T             Toolbars
U                     Measure Tool
B                     Paint Brush Tool