1 Power distribution in SLHC trackers using embedded DC-DC converters F.Faccio, G.Blanchot, S.Michelis, C.Fuentes, B.Allongue, S.Orlandi CERN – PH-ESE
PH seminar, Jan09F.Faccio, PH/ESE2 Outline Proposed scheme using DC-DC converters Specific technical difficulties Semiconductor technology Semiconductor technology EMC (conducted and radiated noise) EMC (conducted and radiated noise) Inductor design Inductor design ASIC development and integration aspects Conclusion
PH seminar, Jan09F.Faccio, PH/ESE3 SLHC-specific requirements Converters to be placed inside the tracker volume Magnetic field (up to 4T) Radiation field (>100Mrd, >10 15 n/cm 2 ) Environment sensitive to noise (EMI) No commercial component exists, need for a custom development
PH seminar, Jan09F.Faccio, PH/ESE4 Proposed distribution scheme (ATLAS Short Strip concept) Distribution with 2 conversion stages Only 1 line to the stave (10-12V), all other voltages generated locally Stage 1: It is composed of 2 converters It generates 2 intermediate power buses (2.5 for analog and 1.8 for digital) It provides 1.6W for analog and 2W for digital, but could provide more than 2x that power – allowing to power 4 hybrids with even higher efficiency if mechanical integration allows it Stage 2: Switched capacitor converter with fixed conversion ratio = 2 It is integrated directly on-chip (2 per chip, analog and digital) Efficient because able to provide locally the voltage required by the load (different for analog and digital) 10-12V 2 Converter stage2 on-chip Detector 2.5V bus 1.8V bus 2 Converter stage 1 Hybrid controller Voltage for SMC and optoelectronics generated locally by a converter stage V Rod/stave
PH seminar, Jan09F.Faccio, PH/ESE5 Offered modularity Serial “module enable” bus from SMC 10-12V 2.5V power bus 1.8V power bus HC DC-DC Serial “chip enable” bus from HC Easy control Module power turned on/off by SMC via serial bus to DC- DC converters in stage 1 FE ASIC individually turned on/off by HC via serial bus Other configurations possible, for instance: HC powered via separate 2.5V line under the control of SMC DC-DC converters on module controlled by HC) Individual converter composition DC-DC ASIC in plastic package (~7x7x1 mm) A few SMD components Air-core inductor Size dependent on chosen design (to be discussed later)
PH seminar, Jan09F.Faccio, PH/ESE6 Outline Proposed scheme using DC-DC converters Specific technical difficulties Semiconductor technology Semiconductor technology EMC (conducted and radiated noise) EMC (conducted and radiated noise) Inductor design Inductor design ASIC development and integration aspects Conclusion
PH seminar, Jan09F.Faccio, PH/ESE7 Semiconductor technology The converter requires the use of a technology able to work up to at least 15-20V Such technology is very different from the advanced low-voltage (1-2.5V) CMOS processes used for readout and control electronics, for which we know well the radiation performance and how to improve it High-voltage technologies are typically tailored for automotive applications Need to survey the market and develop radiation-tolerant design techniques enabling the converter to survive the SLHC radiation environment (> 10Mrd) A 0.35 m technology has been extensively tested (see next slide) In the near future, 3 other technologies will be tested in the m nodes Properties of high-voltage transistors largely determine converter’s performance Need for small Ron, and small gate capacitance (especially Cgd) for given Ron! Prototypes in 0.35 m
PH seminar, Jan09F.Faccio, PH/ESE8 Candidate technologies All technologies offer “low voltage” devices from a mixed-signal technology, with the addition of a “high-voltage” module (up to 80V in some cases) Some properties of the high-voltage transistors are summarized in the table below (for NMOS transistors, that have to be used as switches) Tech Node (um) Trans type Max Vds (V) Vgs (V) Tox (nm) Ron*um (kOhm*um) Status 0.35Lateral Vertical Tested 0.18Lateral Tested 0.13Lateral Tested 0.25Lateral Tested 0.18Lateral First MPW April 09
PH seminar, Jan09F.Faccio, PH/ESE9 Examples of TID effects (NMOS) Leakage (large increase) Large Vth shiftNo leakage, small Vth shift
PH seminar, Jan09F.Faccio, PH/ESE10 Examples of displacement damage effects Effect visible in output characteristics [Id=f(Vds)] … and in on-resistance (Ron)
PH seminar, Jan09F.Faccio, PH/ESE11 Summary of results One technology (0.25 m node) has demonstrated radiation tolerance compatible with benchmark: NMOS Ron decrease below 60% for 2.5∙10 15 n/cm 2 (1MeV equivalent) Vth shift manageable (below 200mV for NMOS, 400mV for 350Mrd) Negligible leakage current with TID Overall, radiation could affect converter performance as small drop of efficiency (below 5%) One technology (0.13 m node) could satisfy requirements for installation further from collision point, where fluence is limited below 1∙10 15 n/cm 2 (1MeV equivalent) The other 2 technologies are less performant and will not be considered further Conclusion: While starting prototype work in the 0.25um technology, another 0.18 m technology will be tested in 2009 (we look for a second source with comparable radiation performance)
PH seminar, Jan09F.Faccio, PH/ESE12 EMC issues Without any doubt, switching converters inside the tracker are an additional source of noise Noise can be conducted (via the cables) or radiated (near-field emission from inductor, loops, and switching nodes). Both propagation paths have to be controlled Action is required in 2 directions Decrease the noise from the source Control the noise path – ultimately design a more robust system EMI (dV/dt) EMI (dI/dt) EMI (dψ/dt)
PH seminar, Jan09F.Faccio, PH/ESE13 Conducted CM noise from custom prototypes Several custom DC-DC prototypes (buck topology) using discrete commercial components have been manufactured Proper design of PCB and choice of passive components (caps) drastically decrease the conducted noise Example: output common mode noise for 2 custom prototypes using identical discrete components (commercial driver + switches). Only the design of the PCB and the passive components differ Frequency (Hz) Noise (dBuA) “Reference” level based on Class A limit from CISPR11 converted to current on a given impedance (Careful: this is NOT a real limit)
PH seminar, Jan09F.Faccio, PH/ESE14 Radiated noise (magnetic field) The susceptibility of systems to the magnetic field emitted by inductors of power converters is a major concern. System tests were carried out on TOTEM, with a coil driven by an amplified RF source. The coil is accurately positioned above the detector, the bondings and the ASICs and the induced noise is analyzed from the test DAQ. 538 nH air core, 1A. Noise decreases when the inductance is placed at some distance from the detector
PH seminar, Jan09F.Faccio, PH/ESE15 Susceptibility to Magnetic Field Shielding of inductor (Al wrap) The shielding of the coil with Al foil allows protecting the front-end against radiated noise
PH seminar, Jan09F.Faccio, PH/ESE16 Powering a Si Strip module with DC-DC converter prototypes Measurements on the TOTEM Si Strip module, with detector biased 3 locations were exercised, with no impact on the noise performance of the system Cables were still relatively long in this test When powered with very short cables, marginal noise increase for only 1 prototype (no noise increase for another) The front-end ASICs were powered by a DC/DC converter prototype (PH-ESE) – switching frequency = 1MHz DCDC mounted on top of the detector without shield, d < 15 mm to be able to see some coupling effect This is radiated noise (cables as in previous measurements, hence no influence of conducted noise as before) Main radiated field from inductor. We need to shield the inductor
PH seminar, Jan09F.Faccio, PH/ESE17 Requirements for the inductor Value: up to nH (this is feasible with air-core) Compact for high integration Light for low material budget With small ESR both in DC and AC (at the switching frequency) for high efficiency It needs to be shielded for low radiated noise
PH seminar, Jan09F.Faccio, PH/ESE18 Different air-core inductors Air-core inductors can be manufactured in different configurations: planar, solenoid, toroid Planar (on PCB) ESR(DC)>100m Solenoid ESR(DC)~10-30m Toroid ESR(DC)~20-30m for custom winding, largely dependent on implementation for PCB toroid
PH seminar, Jan09F.Faccio, PH/ESE19 “Optimized” PCB toroid (1) Custom design exploiting PCB technology: easy to manufacture, characteristics well reproducible Design can be optimized for low volume, low ESR, minimum radiated noise With the help of simulation tools (Ansoft Maxwell 3D and Q3D Extractor), we estimated inductance, capacitance and ESR for different designs. This guided the choice of the samples to manufacture as prototypes The addition of two Al layers (top, bottom) shields the parasitic radiated field efficiently A series of PCB toroids has been designed and is now being manufactured Measurements will be compared to simulation
PH seminar, Jan09F.Faccio, PH/ESE20 Outline Proposed scheme using DC-DC converters Specific technical difficulties Semiconductor technology Semiconductor technology EMC (conducted and radiated noise) EMC (conducted and radiated noise) Inductor design Inductor design ASIC development and integration aspects Conclusion
PH seminar, Jan09F.Faccio, PH/ESE21 ASIC development – 1 st generation ASIC designer: Stefano Michelis Prototype for “conversion stage 1” First prototype designed and manufactured in AMIS I3T80 technology Simple buck topology V in up to 10V V out =2.5V I out up to 1.5A switching frequency MHz ASIC included main functions only (switches, control circuitry) External compensation network, reference voltage and sawtooth generator required Functionality tested OK Prototype used already to power detector modules
PH seminar, Jan09F.Faccio, PH/ESE22 ASIC development – 2 nd generation Second generation prototype Still manufactured in AMIS 0.35 m Features: VIN and Power Rail Operation from +3.3V to +12V Selectable output voltage (nominal 2.5V) Maximum output current: 3A Fast Transient Response - 0 to 100% Duty Cycle 14MHz Bandwidth Error Amplifier with 10V/μs Slew Rate Internal oscillator fixed at 1Mhz, programmable from 400kHz to 3MHz with external resistor Internal voltage reference (nominally (1.2V) Remote Voltage Sensing with Unity Gain Programmable delay between gate signals Integrated feedback loop with bandwidth of 20Khz Submitted December 08, expected back in April 09 Mounted in 7x7mm QFN package
PH seminar, Jan09F.Faccio, PH/ESE23 Towards integration Compact design Reducing the size of the full converter Design compatible with tracker layout (evolving) in terms of area, volume, material budget, cooling System tests Use converter prototypes to power available system prototypes (evolving) Develop prototypes of conversion stage 2 (on-chip switched capacitor) to demonstrate efficiency and compatibility with FE circuitry PCB substrate ASIC SMD devices Inductor Integration in ATLAS SCT module design From D.Ferrere University of Geneva 2 converters (analog and digital power)
PH seminar, Jan09F.Faccio, PH/ESE24 Outline Proposed scheme using DC-DC converters Specific technical difficulties Semiconductor technology Semiconductor technology EMC (conducted and radiated noise) EMC (conducted and radiated noise) Inductor design Inductor design ASIC development and integration aspects Conclusion
PH seminar, Jan09F.Faccio, PH/ESE25 Conclusion Distributing power is SLHC trackers requires a different scheme than what has been used for LHC trackers The use of DC-DC converters enables to meet the requirements, but implies the availability of “custom” converters (radiation, magnetic field, EMC) Technical difficulties for the successful development of the converters are being solved. Converter design for integration in final system is evolving PH R&D program and EU FP7 SLHC-PP program provide essential resources for this crucial development