Pushpull converter
1 Circuit operation
Push-pull converter (+12V 18V; 50W) as cast-in module. 1
transformer; 2 and 3 electrolytic capacitors vertical and horizontal mounted; 4 discrete circuit board in through-hole technology
Very basic schematic of a full-bridge converter. Not the
center tapped or split primary push-pull converter.
\ The term pushpull is sometimes used to generally refer to any converter with bidirectional excitation of the
transformer. For example, in a full-bridge converter, the
switches (connected as an H-bridge) alternate the voltage across the supply side of the transformer, causing the
transformer to function as it would for AC power and produce a voltage on its output side.
However, pushpull more commonly refers to a twoswitch topology with a split primary winding.
In any case, the output is then rectied and sent to the
load. Capacitors are often included at the output to lter
A pushpull converter is a type of DC-to-DC converter, the switching noise.
a switching converter that uses a transformer to change In practice, it is necessary to allow a small interval bethe voltage of a DC power supply. The distinguishing tween powering the transformer one way and powering
feature of a push-pull converter is that the transformer it the other: the switches are usually pairs of transisprimary is supplied with current from the input line by tors (or similar devices), and were the two transistors in
pairs of transistors in a symmetrical push-pull circuit. the pair to switch simultaneously there would be a risk
The transistors are alternately switched on and o, peri- of shorting out the power supply. Hence, a small wait is
odically reversing the current in the transformer. There- needed to avoid this problem. This wait time is called
fore current is drawn from the line during both halves of Dead Time and is necessary to avoid transistor shootthe switching cycle. This contrasts with buck-boost con- through.
verters, in which the input current is supplied by a single transistor which is switched on and o, so current is
only drawn from the line during half the switching cycle. During the other half the output power is supplied 2 Transistors
by energy stored in inductors or capacitors in the power
supply. Pushpull converters have steadier input current, N-type and P-type power transistors can be used. Power
create less noise on the input line, and are more ecient MOSFETs are often chosen for this role due to their high
current switching capability and their inherently low ON
in higher power applications.
1
EXTERNAL LINKS
3 Timing
If both transistors are in their on state, a short circuit results. On the other hand if both transistors are in their o
state, high voltage peaks appear due to back EMF.
If the driver for the transistors is powerful and fast
enough, the back EMF has no time to charge the capacity
of the windings and of the body-diode of the MOSFETs
to high voltages.
If a microcontroller is used, it can be used to measure
the peak voltage and digitally adjust the timing for the
transistors, so that the peak only just appears. This is especially useful when the transistors are starting from cold
with no peaks, and are in their boot phase.
The cycle starts with no voltage and no current. Then one
transistor turns on, a constant voltage is applied to the primary, current increases linearly, and a constant voltage is
induced in the secondary. After some time T the transistor is turned o, the parasitic capacities of the transistors
and the transformer and the inductance of the transformer
form an LC circuit which swings to the opposite polarity.
Then the other transistor turns on. For the same time T
charge ows back into the storage capacitor, then changes
the direction automatically, and for another time T the
Top: Simple inverter circuit shown with an electromechanical
charge ows in the transformer. Then again the rst transwitch
sistor turns on until the current is stopped. Then the cyand automatic equivalent
auto-switching device implemented with two transistors and split cle is nished, another cycle can start anytime later. The
S-shaped current is needed to improve over the simpler
winding auto-transformer in place of the mechanical switch.
converters and deal eciently with remanence.
4 See also
Inverter (electrical)
resistance. The gates or bases of the power transistors are
tied via a resistor to one of the supply voltages. A P-type
transistor is used to pull up the N-type power transistor
gate (common source) and an N-type transistor is used to
pull down the P-type power transistor gate.
Alternatively, all power transistors can be N-type, which
oer around three times the gain of their P-type equivalents. In this alternative the N-type transistor used in
place of the P-type has to be driven in this way: The
voltage is amplied by one P-type transistor and one Ntype transistor in common base conguration to rail-torail amplitude. Then the power transistor is driven in
common drain conguration to amplify the current.
In high frequency applications both transistors are driven
with common source.
The operation of the circuit means that both transistors
are actually pushing, and the pulling is done by a low pass
lter in general, and by a center tap of the transformer
in the converter application. But because the transistors
push in an alternating fashion, the device is called a pushpull converter.
Pushpull output
Class B or AB pushpull
Rectier
5 External links
Switchmode PSU for car audio 12V to symmetric
output pushpull converter used for powering car
audio ampliers. This is a true pushpull topology
with two switches and a center-tapped transformer.
Push-Pull converter basics An article covering the
basic operating principles of the push-pull converter.
Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses
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Pushpull converter Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Push%E2%80%93pull_converter?oldid=757095206 Contributors: Glenn,
MistToys, Laen~enwiki, Wtshymanski, Slgrandson, Arnero, RexNL, SmackBot, Oli Filth, IIXII, Wykis, Zack112358, LightYear, CyrilB,
Dicklyon, Charly Whisky, Chetvorno, Cydebot, Electron9, Ccrrccrr, ICE77, Philip Trueman, Mild Bill Hiccup, MystBot, Addbot, Yobot,
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